Today was Paul Bettany's birthday so I chose to watch one of his films. I selected Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World, because the last time I saw it was seven years ago in the movies. And also because Russel Crowe has been on my mind lately, and my recollection was that they really worked well together in this movie.
The film is a stunning high seas adventure that really gives a sense of what it must have been like on a sailing ship in the 1800's. Russell Crowe commands the movie as Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany is Dr. Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor and the Captain's best friend. Both men play off each other exceedingly well, especially in the films quiet dramatic moments.
The plot involves the Captain chasing a french privateer half way around the world, but it is really about the relationship of these two men. The film is based on the Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brien and was directed by peter Wier
The production quality is excellent. It is impossible to tell where the real ships end and the CGI and miniatures take over. The all male cast is uniformly excellent. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture. Produced by three studios, Fox, Universal and Miramax, the film did well at the box office but not as well to spawn a franchise based on the other 17 books in the series.
At The Movie House rating ****stars.
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