Set in 1942 in the middle of the Battle of the Atlantic, Hanks plays Commander Ernest Krause, who has just received his first assignment in World War II. Its mission is to lead the USS Keeling ship with the code name Greyhound, which along with other ships from Britain and Canada, is tasked with escorting a convoy of 37 Allied ships carrying various supplies. His opponent is a line of German-owned submarines, U-boats. Top Movie Site
Three days before reaching their destination in Liverpool, U-boats began launching attacks. Directing Aaron Schneider (Get Low) managed to build tension and the scent of danger since the first time the Greyhound radar detected an enemy. Blake Neely’s bombastic music (King Kong, The Da Vinci Code, Love, Simon) combined with an alarm roar creates a sense of urgency. The chaos arises neatly arranged by Schneider’s dynamic game, which understands when to instruct its actors to shout or whisper, and when a banter must be presented sooner or later.
In short, the Greyhound managed to destroy the German submarine. All the crew cheered. One of them congratulates Krause for successfully killing the lives of 50 opposing troops. Krause was not impressed, then answered curtly, “50 human lives”. From here lies the focus of the Hanks manuscript began to appear. The audience was invited to understand how heavy the burden on the shoulders of a warship leader. Especially the dilemma about life and death. Should he prioritize missions or save lives as best he can? Best Movie
Throughout the three-day battle without stopping, Krause did not rest, did not eat, his legs bled from standing still on his shoes. There’s not even a moment of relaxation, because after one victory, his men are waiting for the next instruction. And when he made a mistake, Krause was haunted by guilt.
Schneider’s shot selection, assisted with perfect timing editing, helps imply the protagonist’s heart’s content without the need for verbal speech. The camera will highlight the Commander’s face, then move to the expression of his subordinates, who seemed to judge Krause. Whether true or not, but that’s how he felt. And Hanks’s appearance manifests this inner struggle in a tangible way, giving a humanistic impression when the effort to add a personal touch through a glimpse of information about Krause’s romantic life ends only as a trinkets in passing, which is actually unnecessary.
Greyhound is rolling pretty short. Only 91 minutes. There is no room for drama outside of war, and the film itself does not want to pretend to be more than that. Skillful editing plus a qualified pacing game from the director in packing a bombastic battle in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, compressing the dynamics of the Greyhound which was designed as a short presentation without further ado. Although it requires more attention so as not to get lost in the middle of foreign terms that come and go so fast. Movie Review
