Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Directed by Peter Weir; produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr, Duncan Henderson, Peter Weir

In 1805, the new French Empire has subdued all of Europe, and only Britain stands between Napoleon and world domination. To help cripple its remaining enemy, France has sent a warship, the Acheron, to raid British commerce in the south Atlantic. HMS Surprise, under Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is despatched to sink or capture her. But the Acheron is faster, better armed and built in a manner that renders her almost impervious to Surprise’s guns, and commanded by a man almost as good a seaman as Aubrey. Nonetheless, Aubrey and his crew mean to defeat her, at all costs.

You won’t see a better or more accurate cinematic depiction of life and battle in the days of sail than Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Adapted from the tenth novel in Patrick O’Brian’s ‘Aubrey’ series, everyone, from writers and producers to costumers and casting directors, knows his stuff.

The acting is first rate, headed by Crowe and Paul Bettany, as ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin. They anchor the film with their character’s friendship that is often combative, due to their conflicting and complimentary personalities. Entirely credible, they are likeable and sympathetic, but fit perfectly in the setting. The movie is one in which great thought was clearly placed into which actors to hire, from veterans, such as Robert Pugh (as the ship’s master) to Max Perkis and the other youngsters who play the midshipmen.

As good as are the performances, it is the writing and direction that make Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World a masterpiece of the action/adventure genre. The story is very well researched, from midshipmen as young as twelve (naval officers started their careers while still children) to sailors who did their duty barefooted (the better to run and stand on yard-arms and climb rigging.)

Interesting as well are the social aspects in the story: in an age when a gentleman was rated by the number of bottles of port he could consume at one sitting, mild drunkenness after dinner was expected. The naval exploits are loaned verisimilitude by being based on those of the real-life admiral, Lord Cochrane.

These features are incorporated without comment, a technique of direction which makes them appear natural; after all, why would sailors remark upon something that is an everyday occurrence? Yet those traits of seamanship that are necessary to understand do not leave the viewer bewildered, thanks to the use of Bettany’s character. Maturin is a landlubber, really, a doctor who has taken service with the Royal Navy, a superb surgeon - and amateur naturalist - who nonetheless is at sea when it comes to the sea. He is not shy about asking the officers what is going on; when he learns, the audience learns.

The opposing yet complimentary characters of Aubrey and Maturin provide two views of life onboard a ship in the Napoleonic Wars and, indeed, two views of the society of the day. Aubrey approves of discipline, following orders and hierarchy, while Maturin is what was called then a ‘radical’ (he is termed such at one point by his friend), who believes in a teetotal navy and the abolition of flogging.

The writing is such that it can present both opinions sympathetically: Maturin denounces a ship’s captain’s dictatorship, stating that a claim that ‘people need leadership’ has justified tyranny from Nero to Napoleon. And he’s right. Aubrey, however, knows that the only thing that avoids inefficiency, crime and, worst, factionalism, on board the tiny, isolated world of a sailing ship is unswerving discipline. And he’s right, too.

These examples of fine writing, when on the screen, are also examples of fine direction. But the spectacular scenes, of course, are noticed more. The battles are exciting and realistic - the way iron balls go through a wooden ship makes one wonder how any sailor remained alive and any ship afloat - while the tempest at Cape Horn (notorious for its storms) will have a viewer on his seat’s edge.

Whether one demands action, historical accuracy or drama, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is very difficult to beat, by any standard.