Rush (2013)

Rush is a simple film that offers much pleasure. The Formula One rivalry between the cocky, sloppy playboy Brit James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and the careful, considered Austrian Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) is brought to life in a noisy, exciting way by Ron Howard, who evokes the 1976 Grand Prix season leading up to the all-important final race. 

Period detail of the 1970s is handled well. There’s a colour filter applied that cleverly makes it look how we seem to remember that decade. Fast edits and low angles bring out the maximum drama in a sport that was often surprisingly dull to watch on TV. Howard has the luxury of cramming in all the good bits and omitting all the tedium.

The two leads are both excellent. Hemsworth’s posh English accent is remarkably convincing given that he later came unstuck with his Nantucket accent for In the Heart of the Sea (also directed by Ron Howard). Especially strong is Alexandra Maria Lara as Lauda’s wife. Rarely has a face been so expressive.

I always enjoy biopics. Even when they don't work, they are usually interesting, but this one really does work – and for both protagonists. That said, a decent documentary of the same events would probably be more fascinating. Only one criticism: James Hunt’s wife, played by Olivia Wilde, has a storyline that just peters out – almost as if a scene was cut by mistake.

In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

The whaleship Essex was sunk in 1820 by a large sperm whale. That true story caught the imagination of Herman Melville, who published his masterpiece novel Moby-Dick in 1851. This film, adapted from the book of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick, tells the story of the Essex in flashback as one of the few survivors of the ship recounts his tale to Melville.

Ron Howard’s direction is vivid and exciting. I’m not quite convinced by Chris “Thor” Hemsworth as Owen Chase. Is it his diction or just his difficulty with mastering the Nantucket accent that makes his garbled speech so hard to understand?

The film is able to sidestep ethical issues about whaling because they didn’t trouble anyone in the 1800s. It can’t avoid the topic of cannibalism, though, although it doesn’t go into the religious justifications for the deed that were referenced in Alive.

The visuals are striking. Often the film looks peculiarly coloured and dream-like. That’s not because the CGI is poor – in fact, it’s incredibly convincing. It’s because some of the scenes are lit in a way that just doesn’t feel “real”. But – given the flashback mechanism – you could argue that this is what vivid memories look like, given their intensity.

It’s a satisfyingly well-told story that never flags.