good action thriller

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2016)

It's 1952 Chatham, Massachusetts. Coast Guard crewman Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) dates Miriam Pentinen (Holliday Grainger). He tries to get approval by his commander Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana) to marry Miriam. He always follows the rules. A storm roars in. The tanker SS Pendleton splits in half. Mild mannered engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) struggles to lead the men and drive the sinking stern onto a shoal. Cluff orders Bernie to take a small boat in a suicidal rescue mission.
This is great adventure on the high seas. Sybert's side of the story is compelling. It has action and brains. It has great tension. Some of it unnecessarily gets a little melodramatic. The Bernie Miriam romance is even more melodramatic. The first act about their courting could easily be cut in half. Chris Pine is miscast. He's trying very hard to be shy and somewhat fails. He's not the type. His mannerisms don't work. His acting doesn't stretch that way. Overall, this is a sorta Perfect Storm with some problematic acting and melodrama.