I have not read Patrick O’Brian’s series of books about the Napoleonic-period adventures of British naval captain Jack Aubrey (here Russell Crowe) and his friend ship’s surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin (here Paul Bettany), but perhaps I should. The people who made this film have turned one of the middle books in the series into an outstanding action-adventure film, and I would suppose that, to succeed in this, they would have had to start out with some good material.

HMS Surprise, Aubrey’s ship, has been ordered to intercept French privateer (*) Acheron off the northeast coast of Brazil and prevent it from carrying the Napoleonic War into the Pacific Ocean. The film starts with Surprise and Acheron encountering each other, and Surprise getting the worst of the encounter. Surprise then has to exceed its orders and chase Acheron around the Horn and all the way to the Galapagos Islands, where the indigenous wildlife (which Maturin, who has ambitions to pre-Darwin Darwin, studies at great length) will give Aubrey the inspiration he needs to defeat the enemy’s faster, bigger, better-crewed and better-gunned ship.

For those of us who remember Horatio Hornblower, Aubrey is a revelation. To start with, he’s not particularly neurotic. He enjoys drinking with his fellow officers, recounting anecdotes about Lord Nelson, making bad puns, and playing string duets with Maturin. He’ll order a man triced up and lashed if he thinks it necessary, but takes no pleasure in it. He gets along well with his men, though that is not one of his priorities. He tolerates his friend Maturin, who in turn is a born rebel, and not above a bit of insubordination, at least in private. All in all, he’s a good role for Crowe.

Bettany’s intensity also makes for an interesting Maturin. But the star actor, IMHO, is a thirteen-year-old boy named Max Pirkis, who plays a young midshipman named Blakeney who loses his right arm during the first action off Brazil and who nevertheless gets to show his mettle (and his command abilities) during the final fight with the Acheron.

Lots of marvelous sea scenery — and the shots from the Galapagos were also interesting (parts of this movie would have done better as a National Geographic special). The one jarring note was the Vaughan Williams music that was used for background at least twice. Not that Vaughan Williams would necessarily be inappropriate for this film — anyone for his First Symphony (“A Sea Symphony”)? — but his “Thomas Tallis” seemed somehow out of place.

Those who are squeamish should close their eyes during certain parts of this film. Luckily, Blakeney’s arm comes off just below the left bottom of the screen; all we see of that is him with his eyes closed, biting down on a leather tooth guard. But we do get to see one delightful brain operation (out on deck, with the whole crew standing around watching with curiosity), and Maturin at one point has the on-screen pleasure of removing a bullet from his own belly while someone holds a mirror for him.

All in all, probably one of the best films of the autumn. Catch it if you can.

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(*) According to other reviews, in the book Acheron was an American privateer, but apparently this was changed for a film aimed primarily at an American audience. However, Acheron remains a ship built (now for the French) in a Boston shipyard …

If you can, you should let Max Pirkis know he needs a better publicist. You gave the most information about him to be found on the internet and that was his namd and age. Where is he from?
Has he done anything else? Is he doing anything else? He is a good actor and is definitely pleasing to the eye. Let’s see more of him and please let us know how he can be contacted.