I recently attended a work offsite in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (yes, I have a full-time job though maybe one day I can write books full-time), and on the flight, I decided to watch Greyhound FINALLY. It was a movie I was interested in when I first saw the trailer, but I never got around to watching it. I think it slipped through the cracks because it was not a theatrical release (though I was all over All Quiet On The Western Front on Netflix).
Something about it coming out in theaters first makes you pay attention more; if it’s released on a platform, it can easily be forgotten when there’s so much to watch. Tom Hanks actually agrees with this sentiment. I read that he preferred for Greyhound to be released in theaters, but Apple made it a stream-only release. So, after watching it two times now (once on my own and once with my wife), here’s my take on it.
Truth #1: Movement Makes A Destroyer Feel Big
You really have to appreciate how Tom Hanks wrote this story and how it was filmed. A destroyer might seem like a big ship, but the spaces are small if you have been on any type of navy ship. So how do you evoke action in such a tight space without it becoming boring? Movement in and out of areas becomes critical to keeping the audience engaged.
Captain Krause (played by Tom Hanks) moves in and out of the bridge as Greyhound and her crew fight to defend a 37-ship convoy from a wolfpack of German U-boats. During the Battle of the Atlantic, Allied air cover could only reach across the ocean to England. Thus, in the middle of the water, where there was no cover called The Pit, Allied destroyers had to be the shepherds of the convoy to keep the wolves at bay (the movie is based on the book called The Good Shepherd).
They did a great job moving the Captain around the destroyer to keep the audience engaged in building some sense of action and suspense. They do it in a well-balanced way and make it feel like the destroyer is bigger than it actually is. In fact, you can visit the destroyer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, since most of the movie was filmed on the USS Kidd, a Fletcher-class destroyer from the war (there’s also a nod to it in the film if you watch closely).
Truth #2: The Little Details Make the Movie
Hanks is a master at bringing to the surface the little details. It’s what makes a good story, for it’s all the things you notice that don’t need words to speak to the audience: the toy destroyer in his cabin linking back to his life back home, the blood on the floor from his heels as a result of him being on his feet without rest in his uncomfortable military-issued shoes, and the worried looks shared amongst the crew as they try to chase a seemingly invisible enemy beneath the stormy ocean water.
There were other things, like his mispronouncing crew names and mistaking a messman for another. He has not eaten a meal nor slept, and these little mistakes show his humanity and juxtapose against his ability to make the right decisions in challenging situations to keep his ship and crew afloat. The Captain is also a profoundly religious man. He commands the respect of his crew like that of a shepherd, serving as a direct parallel and metaphor for the destroyer itself to the convoy. The codename Greyhound was quite fitting.
The Lie: The USS Keeling, Codename: Greyhound, Is Fictional
The ship in the movie never existed. However, the events the film depicts did happen, and they did a pretty good job capturing little details. For instance, the German tactic of attacking like a wolfpack at night rather than piecemeal was used to devastating effect. The Germans also developed
countermeasures to sneak away from destroyers also make an appearance in the film.
But even though the ship is fictional, it’s cool that we have a preserved destroyer from the war. And even cooler that Hanks made sure to film on it and to incorporate a nod in the movie. He had been developing this film for ten years. So thankfully, despite what many might think about streaming-only movies, we were given this film.
My only critique is the opening scene. I understand what Hanks was trying to do. He wanted to give the character something to fight for and fear of losing if he perished. But it was something that I think they could have cut. A little detail like the destroyer and a photo of his love interest would suffice rather than a scene that feels out of place. But all in all, I recommend you watch this one. Hanks rarely disappoints when it comes to movies, particularly ones that touch war.
Photo Credit: Paul Bender
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