THE NORTH WATER is Chilling in the Tale

 

Jeri Jacquin

Currently streaming on AMC+ from writer/director Andrew Haigh from the novel by Ian McGuire is the five-part television series THE NORTH WATER.

It is 1859 and Patrick Sumner (Jack O’Connell) is a surgeon who has joined the whaling vessel Volunteer. He watches the crew and particularly a man named Henry Drax (Colin Farrell). Drax is a ruthless man who has done heinous things so being part of the crew as the harpooner, he manages to avoid the law.

Sumner has his own past that he is trying to get away from and does so with bottles of laudanum. As they go further north to look for whales, Captain Brownlee (Stephen Graham) has made a deal with the company for what is to happen with the ship. Sumner also tries to help the whalers and discovers the dangers of the waters. On board, it is discovered that a cabin boy has been treated horribly and Sumner is not about to let it go.

Looking for the man responsible, Sumner’s eyes turn to Drax and with good reason and Brownlee meets the hostility of a crew member. The ship continues north even though the crew does not understand why. With the help of another ship, the Hastings, a plan is put into motion but, as with all evil plans, everything goes wrong. As the ship is in distress, the crew is abandoned on an ice shelf waiting for a good time to board the Hastings.

Cavendish (Sam Spruell) has taken charge but the next morning the Hastings is no where to be found. What is left of the crew boards the rowboats and try to find a pace to be safe. On a rock surrounded by ice mountains, the crew try to survive. When a pair of Inuit arrive, there is meat for everyone but Drax and Cavendish as always, want more. If things are not already bad, they are about to get worse.

As the others trek across the ice, Sumner follows a bear in hopes of having food. Another storm hits when he is discovered by a priest (Peter Mullan) who takes him in. The Inuit come to hunt with Sumner, and he begins to have a legendary name for himself. But Sumner has other plans and wants to get home.

Once home, he discovers the truth about the journey and decides to take care of it all once and for all.

McConnell as Sumner begins the series as a young man dealing with the injustices of war, greed and those who held his life in his hands. Taking the vessel surgeon job on the Volunteer was the only thing he had left in his life. It is on the journey that Sumner realizes that treachery can be found anywhere in the world, not just on the battlefield. McConnell is absolutely stunning in this role, and I loved every step he took from start to finish. The growth of the character came to be in good hands with this actor.

Farrell as Drax is out and out vicious, diabolical, deliberate and menacing. Keeping his character so hidden like a ragged harpooner added such depth to what this character was consistently doing to those around him. That being said, Farrell has the amazing ability to play an amazing, good person but when he goes bad, he truly goes full force bad. Drax is a full-on bad man who does not see anything wrong with what he does.

Graham as Brownlee is a man who is trying to find his own redemption in the whaling world and the only way to do that means committing a different kind of crime. Spruell as Cavandish, who starts out as friends with Drax, comes to see that there is no future in befriending the devil.

Shout out to Tom Courtenay as Baxter, the man responsible for setting into motion the events that put lives in danger, caused death and the eventual confrontation with Patrick Sumner. I have always been an avid watcher of Courtenay’s work and he continues to shine.

Other cast include Kieran Urquhart as Jones, Philip Hill-Pearson as McKendrick, Nive Nielsen as Anna, Jonathan Aris as Corbyn, Lee Knight as Stevens, Gary Lamont as Webster, Eliza Butterworth as Hester, Mark Rowley as Bain, Roland Moller as Otto and Tom Courtenay as Baxter.

AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched in June 2020. The service streams THE WALKING DEAD franchise as well as MAD MEN, FEAR THE WALKING DEAD, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and currently THE NORTH WATERS. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.amcplus.com.

The five-part episodes include Behold the Man, We Men Are Wretched Things, Homo Homini Lupus, The Devils of the Earth and To Live is to Suffer.

THE NORTH WATER is a series you must binge watch. I could not stop and do not regret a moment of it. This is a series about what men do to one another, the reasons they do it (whether good or bad is indifferent to their reasons), the horror of what memories can push someone to and when you put it all in a mixing bowl, the results are disastrous.

The cast is amazing led by O’Connell as Farrell lies low in the background but never letting you forget he is there. The entire cast put their stories out to lead the story in different directions but never straying from the fact that the boat they are on is leading them to death. Using the barren lands of the Artic, there is nothing distracting the viewer from investing in every moment of Patrick Sumner’s experience.

In the end – the hunt will change!

TOMMY’S HONOUR Brings Just That to the Game of Golf!

Jeri Jacquin

In selected theatres this week from director Jason Connery and Roadside Attractions is a family history with the swing of a club and TOMMY’S HONOUR.

Golf is in the blood of the Morris family as Old Tom (Peter Mullan) is the head greens keeper at St. Andrews Club teaching his son Young Tommy (Jack Lowden) the game. Both of their skill is well known being supported by the wealthy men of the club like Alexander Boothby (Sam Neill).

Tommy is consistently being told he will never be a gentleman, but he makes it clear to his father that he doesn’t want to be a caddy but a golfer. After three years of being the Open Champion at St. Andrews, he is asked to go to England to play there. Tom is not happy and believes Tommy’s place is at home with his family.

Then Tommy meets Meg (Ophelia Lovibond) who works as a server. Immediately smitten with her and lavishes attention to her surprise. Now earning a good living playing in tournaments, Tommy is finding happiness and takes on the Captain changing the financial relationship. The Captain is furious but agrees to the new arrangement because even he knows how good Tommy is.

In the meantime Tommy’s mother Nancy (Therese Bradley) isn’t happy with her sons choice of companionship and seeks out a secret about Meg she believes will change things. When confronted, Tommy doesn’t care at all and instead marries his love without either parent attending the ceremony.

Tom accepts his son’s choice and with the rest of the family attends dinner at the home Tommy recently purchased for his bride. When mother Nancy doesn’t attend, Meg confronts her with the story behind the secret and the pain it still causes her.

Again Tommy decides to expand and become more independent from those who back him, especially since he and Meg are expecting. While the golfing Morris’ are at a tournament, Tom receives word about Meg and withholds it from Tommy.

The results are devastating and as Tommy begins to follow a heartbreaking path, Tom stands by his son with a legacy that lasts to this very day!

Lowden as Tommy is a young man who believed that his destiny wasn’t to teach golf but to play the game. Constantly working on his game and with the help of his father creating new and inventive clubs, Lowden gives the younger Tommy a bit of grit and sass that one would expect. As he realizes what he wants for his life, he begins to stand up when others want him pushed down. I enjoyed Lowden’s portrayal very much.

Mullan as Tom is a man who is set in the way of how it’s always been. He sees Tommy’s path as fool-hearty and believes that each person should know his station in life. He is also a man who handles things quietly and tries to do what is best for his family. It is hard to read Tom and Mullan keeps it that way until the last frame of the film. What an amazing performance.

Lovibond as Meg is a young woman who has a secret but one that should never define her. When Tommy gives her attention it is easy to see that she believes she doesn’t deserve it, but after they are married she stands tall against anyone, including his mother!

Neill as Boothby has an attitude problem as I’m sure was common during this era. Boothby had no problem making money off of Tommy because he thought him inferior. When he is called out for it, Neill’s character takes a step back. I have to say I have enjoyed Neill’s ability to portray so many different characters and loved every one of them – good character or not-so-good.

Other cast include Peter Ferdinando as Major Molesworth, Max Deacon as David Strath, Kylie Hart as Lizzie Morris, Benjamin Wainswright as George Atwood, Willie Park as Ian Pirie, James Smillie as SKH Boyd, Paul Reid as George Atwood Snr. and Christopher Craig as Durie.

TOMMY’S HONOUR is a beautiful film that is about the legacy of golf to be sure but also about those who gave the game heart and soul. The director has put together a piece that gives a brief history of this family because I’m sure there was so much more to tell.

The scenery and cinematography is absolutely amazing and the costumes added believability to the story that is told. I personally know a little about golf but had no idea the history of the Morris family and their contribution.

What makes TOMMY’S HONOUR even more compelling is the beauty of the Morris family. Even with their trials and the clash of the two golfers who each believe that what they do is right. It’s not that either are wrong, just the changes that occur between generations.

In the end – it’s the pride of a father, love of a wife and soul of a rebel that brings the heart of a champion!