Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2008)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) is without a doubt the best pirate movie I have ever seen. The tale begins when Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) discovered a pirate medallion around the neck of a young boy who washes up from a wrecked merchant ship. She has no idea that it is really a missing piece of Cortez's cursed Aztec gold, stolen by the crew of the Black Pearl. The pirate crew, commanded by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) needs the last piece and the "blood to be repaid" to lift the curse set on them when they removed the gold. In attempts to gain back this cursed treasure, the crew runs into the captive, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who was marooned by Barbossa and left for dead. Once Elizabeth was taken capture by the cursed crewmen of the Black Pearl, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) sets free Jack Sparrow to help him locate the Black Pearl and rescue her.
The cast is perfectly chosen and interacts with each other as if they had been working together on this film over many years. Johnny Depp plays a selfish pirate who is constantly calculating ways to manipulate others into helping him gain what he desires. His phenomenal acting was not only cohesive to piracy, but also added a comedic aspect to the film. He added a sense of comic relief to a typical adventure film by use of sarcasm, wordplay, and gesturing to make the scene humorous rather than somber. My particular favorite quote that depicts his wordplay is, "Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for because you never know when they're going to do something incredibly stupid." He uses the wordplay to, it seems, confuse the other character into believing him to be truthful. After viewing the film, I was utterly convinced that the cast is a medley of pirates all working for or against each other to gain what each of them secretly desired. It is the audience's task to figure out which of the characters can be trusted and which ones have dishonorable ulterior motives.
In terms of cinematography, the film utilizes the aspects of lighting to highlight the effects of the curse on the pirates and to show the authenticity of the time period. As Barbossa, Geoffrey Rush's character, states, "The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We are not among the living' and so we cannot die, but neither are we dead." Lighting is a very important aspect of the entire movie because it shows the effect of the curse in action. The crewmen were forbidden to remove the gold from the chest, but they did so regardless of the warning and became cursed by the heathen Gods. Throughout the rest of the movie, the lighting is either candle light or natural lighting because of the setting. During the night scenes, there is emphasis on moonlight, when the pirate crew is shown, or there is use of candle light indoors. Whichever the case may be, lighting plays a very important role in the film.
The costume designs for each character were carefully chosen and created to match each and every role. Some characters even wore colored contacts to make their eyes appear yellow or discolored, which shows how their life at sea has affected their appearances. Each pirate was made up to look unkempt and terrifying to show how pirates would not have the same luxuries as the upper classes. Elizabeth's character was cleaner in appearance and wore a more elaborate dress than those of the pirates.
This film is full of symbolism and historical backgrounds such as the Black Pearl and the formation of the East India Trading Company. The East India Trading Company was against piracy and all for taxing shipping ports to gain profit from anyone sailing the seas. The Black Pearl, according to Captain Jack Sparrow, symbolizes freedom and his ability to sail the seas without feeling confined to any order or law. A ship has many different parts, but when they are as a whole, they form a liberating method of transportation, which actually becomes a way of life. Piracy becomes more of a culture than a history of rebellious sailors.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the most accurate depiction of historical piracy that has ever been shown in any film. It shows the nature of piracy at its finest and at its worst while adding a mythological twist to it. The cast, costumes, lighting, symbols and plot all come together to create this fantastic movie about pirates and fighting for that in which they believe. I highly recommend seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.