White Squall (1996)
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White Squall Movie Review
White Squall is a 1996 disaster survival film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Jeff Bridges. It’s one of his more underrated and forgotten movies.
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“You can’t run from the wind.
You trim your sails, face the music, and keep going“
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Captain Christopher Sheldon takes a bunch of teenage boys on an ill-fated sailing voyage where they must use all the skills they have learnt so far to survive a white squall. This movie was based on a book and it was one of the biggest box-office bombs of Scott’s career. It received mediocre reviews, but in my opinion it’s a perfectly solid flick that deserves more love for everything that Scott did right.
Jeff Bridges is a likable, charismatic adult lead of the story. He was excellent, though his character was quite familiar as were all the others. The movie has a roster of characters that are pretty much archetypes (one is abused by his father, the other has a phobia of heights etc.). But the cast of performers is so charismatic, charming and naturally good-looking that ultimately they elevated their roles with ease. Ryan Phillippe was particularly memorable in one of the film’s better roles.
This screenplay was not the best. It deals with so many clichés and coming-of-age conventions that it ended up lacking in originality. But the film is so sensual, so adventurous and so utterly charming that it made up for those narrative efficiencies for the most part. The highlights for me included the first act when they first boarded the ship, the storm itself and all the scenes when they had a rest trip on islands. Those were all so much fun.
White Squall also benefits from Ridley Scott’s assured direction. His work on this film was so phenomenal, in fact, that the movie would have been a classic had he had a better script to work off of. Scott imbued the film with so much kineticism, a classically adventurous feel to it and so many superb cinematic qualities ranging from incredible cinematography, a rousing score and excellent sound.
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The courtroom drama third act was not only somewhat implausible, but highly cheesy in the way that most of these movies from this era were, but thankfully the rest of the story was less emotionally manipulative and more genuinely adventurous and engaging. The disaster elements were also superbly executed, evoking ‘Titanic’ in some of the best capsizing moments.
White Squall is one of the most underrated and forgotten Ridley Scott movies. Yes, its coming-of-age script is quite clichéd and populated with archetypal characters. The courtroom drama third act itself was beyond cheesy. But the movie’s cast was quite charismatic and Scott’s assured direction elevated the material throughout. The highlight was its cinematic nature – the rousing score and gorgeous cinematography are the standouts. The movie was at its best during the thrilling disaster and survival scenes.
My Rating – 3.5
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