ANYONE WANNA BABYSIT?:

-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

This is not a movie that depends on body counts for its impact, but on the nature of life on board such a ship. Maturin and Aubrey sometimes relax by playing classical duets, the captain on violin, the doctor on cello, and this is not an affectation but a reflection of their well-rounded backgrounds; their arguments are as likely to involve philosophy as strategy.

The reason that O'Brian's readers are so faithful (I am one) is because this friendship provides him with a way to voice and consider the unnatural life of a man at sea: By talking with each other, the two men talk to us about the contest between man's need to dominate, and his desire to reflect.

There is time to get to know several members of the crew. Chief among them is young Lord Blakeney (Max Pirkis), the teenager who is actually put in command of the deck during one battle. Boys this young were often at sea, learning in action (Aubrey was not much older when he served under Nelson), and both older men try to shape him in their images. With Maturin he shares a passion for biology, and begins a journal filled with sketches of birds and beetles they encounter. Under Aubrey he learns to lead men, to think clearly in battle. Both men reveal their characters in teaching the boy, and that is how we best grow to know them. [...]

"Master and Commander" is grand and glorious, and touching in its attention to its characters. Like the work of David Lean, it achieves the epic without losing sight of the human, and to see it is to be reminded of the way great action movies can rouse and exhilarate us, can affirm life instead of simply dramatizing its destruction.

Four stars, no less.

MORE:
-ESSAY: A High-Risk Film on the High Seas: Every once in a while a Hollywood studio throws out the hit-formula playbook and bets that smart moviegoers will go along for the ride. "Master and Commander" is that rare
case. (ANNE THOMPSON, 11/13/03, NY Times)
-ESSAY: Happily seduced (William F. Buckley, November 12, 2003, Townhall)
-ESSAY: "Master and Commander": Success On the High Seas (Charles Krauthammer, Jewish World Review)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (A.O. Scott, NY Times)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (Ella Taylor , LA Weekly)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (GREGORY WEINKAUF, Dallas Observer)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (Stephen Hunter, Washington Post)
-REVIEW: of Master and Commander (Desson Howe, Washington Post)

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 14, 2003 10:31 AM