The North Water (2021) Review

 

The North Water (2021)

The North Water follows Patrick Sumner, a surgeon who joins the north bound whaling vessel, The Volunteer, looking to escape the horrors of his past, yet discovering new ones as he must brave the cold and the prospect that a violent murderer is amongst the crew. 

In a rare television appearance from Colin Farrell, we get, in my opinion, one of the best shows of the year in The North Water, a grim and uncompromising quest into the dark heart of humanity aboard a doomed whaling ship. Set in the ruthless waters of the late 1850s, this series really acts as a chilling reimagining of The Heart of Darkness, as we venture on a bleak voyage into the great beyond where trust is nonexistent the closer we get to death. Now, while in a series like this, the plot is especially important, with an overarching narrative about an insurance scam gone awry, I found it fascinating at how the show balances this gripping story, while simultaneously allowing us to space out and just ingratiate ourselves with the journey and visuals. 

The story is plainly set out for us from the jump, but it’s less about the conspiracy to make a few people rich and more about just how maddening isolation and the cold can be, sending even the most iron clad of minds over the edge. And in the case of Sumner, it proves that intellect can be a burden, as it forces one to think, in which case, you cannot ultimately escape yourself and the thoughts that creep their way in. It’s this pervading darkness just below the surface that gives the show the legs and stamina to only get better with each episode, though the gorgeous scenery from the grimy streets of England, to the mountainous, icy waters of the north arctic sure help a bunch. 

This series also boasts an incredible cast, starring Peter Mullan, Tom Courtenay, Sam Spruell, Stephen Graham, Roland Møller, Colin Farrell, and Jack O’Connell. Farrell, as seems to be the case lately, is completely unrecognizable as the barbaric and ruthless Drax, a role he blended into perfectly that allowed him to really showcase his dark side. Conversely, O’Connell is fucking brilliant here, as we watch Sumner’s (and likely O’Connell himself) mental fortitude shatter and fold in on itself throughout the course of this grim expedition into nothing. 

Based on the novel by Ian McGuire, The North Water, directed by Andrew Haigh, is one of those once in a generation projects that takes realism to the utter extreme, as we are dropped into the Arctic, where darkness invades every manner of sanity, slowly dissipating amongst the cold, lonely wasteland of the north. 

10/10