Big on explosions, short on explanations.
Those who go to see Deepwater Horizon for a thoughtful examination of what took place on the deep-water drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010 will be sorely disappointed. Although undeniably light on explanation, the latest collaboration between Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg, who worked together on Lone Survivor, excels when it comes to depicting the devastation caused on the rig.
The true star of this movie is indeed said devastation, which is seen through the eyes of the rig's crew. Those front and center include the chief electronics technician on board, Mike Williams (Wahlberg); the man in charge of the crew, Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell); rig worker Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez); and BP representative Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich).
The film's take on each of these characters is relatively one-note. That is, Williams is the hero, Harrell (who goes by Mr. Jimmy) is the wise and understanding boss, Fleytas is the relative neophyte who can't keep her head when things get bad, and Vidrine is the villain.
As a film, Deepwater Horizon does not exist to teach the audience about what happened on the drilling rig that day, nor its aftermath. More than once in the movie, the well in question is described as "the well from hell," but it is never clear exactly why the crew is having trouble with the well or why (other than money) BP would keep pushing for this specific well to exist.
That being said, facts are not eschewed entirely, with some of the process coming to light via a presentation Williams' daughter is putting together for school using a can of soda, which stands in for oil, and honey, which stands in for the mud that keeps the oil from exploding out of the ground. This demonstration, while perhaps cute on its face, becomes more than a little heavy-handed and rather silly, particularly when the soda winds up exploding all over the kitchen table as the honey can't keep the soda in the can.
Deepwater Horizon quickly points to Vidrine and other BP folks as the cause of the disaster, making them out to be irresponsible and irredeemable individuals who can't see past an earnings report. Without a true explanation of the process—and the step or two BP decided to skip in preparing the well—the audience is left only with Malkovich's sneering drawl and the crew's hatred of Vidrine.
Malkovich's character is turned into a mustache-twirling villain instead of a true one and that lessens the impact of his actions tremendously. In the end, he becomes wholly superfluous to the goings-on and as much fun as it always is to watch Malkovich, the film would function just as well were Vidrine never present.
The characterization of Fleytas is a problem for the movie as well. She is a woman who goes from not being able to fix her car, to not standing up and doing the right thing on the rig when problems arise, to screaming and needing Williams to rescue her. The only other prominent woman in the film is Williams' wife, Felicia (Kate Hudson), who isn't on the rig and can do no more than make phone calls to find out what's taking place. Again, Williams and Mr. Jimmy are not exceptionally deep, but they get to be heroic in the face of danger while Fleytas is reduced to screaming.
Where the movie does work, and works incredibly well, is with its depiction of the destruction wrought on the rig by the explosion of the well. Berg, as he has exhibited in the past, has a great handle on showing real-life horror in ways that feel true. Once equipment and people start being thrown around, everyone in the audience's adrenaline levels will rise dramatically; it is stunning to watch unfold.
The action-filled evacuation and rescue are in fact so good that they almost eclipse the problems that come earlier in the movie. The audience may not understand where things go wrong or just how any of the safety tests and procedures are supposed to work, but the immediate and calamitous results of those failures are more than clear.
Even after this point in film, post-rescue from the rig, Berg and company do a stellar job showcasing the impact the events have on those who were on board the rig and their loved ones. The scope still feels too narrow, but it remains emotional and unsettling.
The Verdict
Deepwater Horizon is a Hollywood disaster movie. It offers up incredible explosions, stories of heartbreak and heroism, visceral thrills, and paper-thin characters. It is a movie that flinches from explanation, but not from brutality. Beyond the visuals, the charisma of the cast also does a whole lot to overcome this shortfall and once the well goes downhill, the movie turns into an epic thrill ride. Even so, the lack of a more thoughtful examination of the characters, the causes of the problem with the well, and the aftermath is distressing.
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