An excerpt from my script review for In the Heart of the Sea which will be available 12/14/15:
3.) Quality of Characters
Chase, a fearless first mate who’s had to work for every inch of his position both on the boat and in Nantucket society.
Pollard, a captain who cuts corners, gaining his station based on who his father is.
Chase = The Ant
Pollard = The Grasshopper
One deserves to be captain, and the other doesn’t.
And this relationship plays out beautifully in each scene in the script. (Sometimes stereotypically, but fun nonetheless.)
The crew needs punished? Chase does it.
There’s another whaling boat to beat? Pollard raises sails carelessly, leading the ship into a storm. (And later blaming Chase.)
Anytime things seem tough, Pollard takes the easy way out, Chase does what’s right.
The epitome of which comes at the end. Only two survivors out of 4 remain in Pollard’s boat. (Hint, hint…they ate each other.)
Chase’s boat brings back all four survivors, albeit with talk of imaginary food.
Are there other archetypes in this story? Certainly, and they help develop it wonderfully, but the primary feature that makes all the rest work is the relationship between the careless Captain and his sea worthy First Mate who remains loyal to the end.
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