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When Peter Berg discovers a subject that he is passionate about, it is common to see that passion reflected in the final product of the filmmaker. Whatever one’s feelings about “Friday Night Lights” or “Lone Survivor,” both films are excellent examples of films in which Berg put his heart and soul into the production. His most recent film, “Deepwater Horizon,” which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is based on the horrendous 2010 oil rig disaster that claimed lives and is considered the worst environmental disaster in American history, began production with a different director, J.C. Chandor (“All is Lost”), and is currently in postproduction. After mysterious creative differences forced him to split the project, Berg stepped in, and the result is a film that feels too often like a contractual obligation (and it’s telling that Berg jumped right into another project, “Patriots Day,” about the 2013 Boston bombing, which will be released in only a few months). “It was inevitable that a film would be made about this tragedy, so let’s just get this thing over with.” Although technically accomplished, as is often the case with Berg’s films, it falls short of the depth and significance of a project that springs from a creative spark. Everyone and everything around you seems routine—more like an inevitability than a piece of art or even a piece of entertainment.
In essence, “Deepwater Horizon” is a two-act play: “Act 1: Meet the Crew,” followed by “Act 2: Watch the Disaster.” As a result, we get to spend some time with Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and his family, which includes his wife Felicia (Kate Hudson), before he heads off to work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, which is admittedly a very unusual job. One of the rig’s elder statesmen, “Mr. Jimmy” (Kurt Russell), and one of its more recent hires, Andrea Fleytas, are introduced in this episode (Gina Rodriguez). As is the case with any large corporation, there are some dishonest BP executives who circulate, including the remarkably evil Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich).
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Deepwater Horizon Quiz
There is a surprising amount of technical speech in the first half of “Deepwater Horizon,” with many conversations about PSI and arguments about the appalling condition of the equipment on board the rig. In a film like this, there’s something to be said for paying attention to the technical details, but it makes for a very dry set-up. In terms of getting to know the characters, we don’t really feel like we’re learning anything about them other than what they were doing on the day everything went wrong. When things become more intense later on, our emotional attachment to them is no more than a standard wish for their survival on our part. The fact that Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell are navigating some impressive stunt work ensures that the audience never feels like they are watching Mike and Mr. Jimmy try to get people to safety as much as they do.
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It’s also quite impressive. Whenever something goes wrong on the Deepwater Horizon, it isn’t just a minor issue; it is a vision of Hell, with water, mud, oil, and eventually fire literally everywhere. Because, to be honest, the fact that anyone survived is pretty amazing in its own right. Berg and his technical team know how to make a disaster movie that will keep viewers glued to their seats for long enough that they will be more willing to overlook the flaws. Explosions erupt, metal groans, and bodies are hurled around in a terrifying manner. It’s visually stunning, but ultimately meaningless. Too often, “Deepwater Horizon” feels like a distant cousin of “Battleship,” in that it is more concerned with action sequences and blockbuster stunt work than it is with the people who are involved. It’s also a film that makes a mess of the geography and timing of exactly what happened and when it happened. A particularly moving sequence occurs when an explosion occurs, and water and mud spray the chamber, with the impression that committed men are attempting to repair the situation before things go horribly wrong. When they’re unable to do so, it’s all too often a blur of noise and fire that can’t be distinguished.
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People died as a result of BP’s sloppy work. As a result, how do we tell that story in an entertaining manner while also creating art that will benefit a community that has been adversely affected by the tragedy? This is a difficult question, and one that the film fails to answer successfully. “Deepwater Horizon” has been remade in a more ambitious version that delves deeper into the lives of those working on the rig (maybe more than just the fateful day would have helped). “Deepwater Horizon” captures the explosions perfectly, but it fails to capture everything that happens around them: the people, the aftermath, and the tragedy. That is the more difficult story to tell—the one that places the fire and oil in a context that allows us to see the consequences of the fire and oil beyond the loss of human life. That film could have been directed by Peter Berg. Maybe he was required to be present from the beginning in order to accomplish this.
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