Master and Commander

As the title implies, this is the story of an English ships captain Lucky Jack Aubrey. There are two sailing man-o-war ships and two captains with their countries at war. Jack has been ordered to seek and destroy the faster, newer, larger French ship, the Acheron. His sloop, the Surprise, is outclassed, so it must be his ingenuity and seamanship that prevails, David and Goliath.

This tale begins in 1805 with Napoleon dominating Europe and threatening to invade England once he rules the seas. However Nelson had already destroyed the French Mediterranean fleet in the Battle of the Nile (1798) and later smashed the Franco-Spanish squadrons at Trafalgar (1805). So Napoleon turned his armies toward Russia, Austria, Sweden, Naples and Prussia and away from England.

But Jack commanding the Surprise doesnt know this and neither do we the audience. He remains hell-bent on his assignment, and of course, thats the essence of this plot. It is a heros journey in the face of formidable odds. But the story line also questions heroics as well as the hero. This ethical and philosophical question is personified in Jacks good friend and ships surgeon, Stephen Maturin. They are as close to each other in playing music, as they are far apart on the value and necessity of war at any cost.

In my opinion, this film was excellent entertainment. It combined outstanding acting, detailed authenticity and a well-crafted storyline with the psychological issues of prejudice, cruelty, justice, caring and human values. There are battle scenes, with the bloodshed characteristic of war and there are medical scenes that made me cringe but none of these are amplified with the current horror film gore techniques. If anything they are presented carefully and without unnecessary explicit filmography.

The full title of the film includes the phrase, The Far Side of the World. It allows them to be remote, i.e. a sovereign country on a ship, to sail around the Horn and to visit the Galapagos Islands. This is much different from OBriens novel, which has Jack sailing the Sophie and battling a Spanish ship off Barcelona in the Mediterranean. But Patrick OBrien novels (plural) are credited and the authenticity of this film can be attributed to the incredible detail in those novels.

Russell Crowe plays Jack Aubrey, the captain protagonist. He seemed perfect for this role: serious, determined and obsessed with his quest, yet conflicted with human feelings. I last saw Crowe in Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). He took violin lessons for this film and lost 20 pounds to play the role. After filming Gladiator he took a 4,000 mile motorcycle tour around Australia with friends and also toured the U.S. with his rock band called 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. This role earned him $20M.

Paul Bettany plays Stephen Maturin, the ships surgeon. He was also in A Beautiful Mind (2001). He has been in TV and film roles for only five years.

Reviewed December 16, 2003