2016 ( Hong Kong | USA ) ( Drama, Thriller )
STARRING: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Douglas M. Griffin
DIRECTOR: Peter Berg
‘Deepwater Horizon’ tells the story of the 2010 drilling rig explosion off the Louisiana coast. Mark Wahlberg portrays Mike Williams, the Chief Technical Officer aboard the Deepwater Horizon. Williams’ return to the rig after time off coincides with an increase in corporate carping about the job being weeks behind schedule. Mistakes have been made and corners have been cut. Disaster strikes.
The director, Peter Berg, brilliantly builds up the tension on the “well from hell” as events unfold – nothing seems to work right, the grafters are squeezed ever harder by their paymasters and a giant workplace becomes more claustrophobic by the minute. The sense of dread is stomach-churning and when the well testing turns into full-blown terror Berg is relentless. Technically, this is a tour-de-force but, more importantly, it feels like the crew and their sacrifices have been honoured in the right way. You forget you’re watching actors and are far more concerned about the people who were really there.
(1hr 56min)