Chasing Mavericks is a 2012 biographical film
co-directed by Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted about the life of
American surfer Jay Moriarity.
Chasing Mavericks is based on the life of
surfer Jay Moriarity. It chronicles
his quest to surf the big Mavericks wave in Northern
California , and Frosty
Hesson (Gerard Butler), the
local legend who takes him under his wing in order to train him to survive it.
In the course of Moriarty's training,
the two surfers form a unique friendship.
The film has Jonny
Weston as Jay Moriarity, Gerard Butler as Frosty Hesson, Elisabeth
Shue as Kristy Moriarity, Abigail Spencer as Brenda Hesson, Leven Rambin
as Kim, Taylor Handley as Sonny, Scott Eastwood as Gordy, Greg Long as Mag 1, Peter Mel as Mag 2 and Zach Wormhoudt as Mag 3.
Gerard Butler was hospitalised briefly
after being injured during a surfing stunt.
The film has received negative reviews from critics with
the consensus stating: "It's sweet, gentle, and affably modest, but Chasing
Mavericks is ultimately pulled under by an unconvincing script and a
puzzling lack of energy."
In the middle of North America ,
it’s easy to understand the allure of surfing the Big Wave. Pounding breakers,
especially of the heights generated by ocean coastlines, are an awesome sight,
and though we might think the daredevils who attempt to ride wooden sticks on
top of them are crazy, you’ve gotta admit it looks pretty cool.
Jay Moriarity was a teenage surfing prodigy who became world famous when his spectacular wipeout on the Mavericks break was captured on film and made the cover of Surfer magazine. Chasing Mavericks dramatizes the story of Jay’s life leading up to that moment, but while the surfing scenes are as jaw-dropping as you’d expect, the rest of the movie is under water.
Jay Moriarity was a teenage surfing prodigy who became world famous when his spectacular wipeout on the Mavericks break was captured on film and made the cover of Surfer magazine. Chasing Mavericks dramatizes the story of Jay’s life leading up to that moment, but while the surfing scenes are as jaw-dropping as you’d expect, the rest of the movie is under water.
8-year-old Jay
is rescued from near drowning by his surfer neighbour, Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler),
which sparks his interest in riding the waves. Seven years later, Jay (Jonny Weston) has a wall of trophies and a desire to go further
when he learns that Frosty has been surfing
the legendary Mavericks with a small group of friends. The group want the break
to remain their secret, and Frosty
isn’t happy when Jay begs him for
lessons on how to surf big waves, but wife Brenda
(Abigail Spencer) encourages him to
do it, hoping it will help him work through emotional issues related to the
loss of his father.
Jay’s got some family troubles of
his own, with an absentee military dad and an alcoholic mother (Elisabeth Shue) who’d be lost without
her son. He’s also holding down a job at a pizza parlour while juggling school,
surfer bullies, and his attraction to old friend Kim (Leven Rambin). But
can he pull it all together to meet Frosty’s
training goals in just 12 weeks? And will he survive some of the most dangerous
waves on the planet?
Judging a biopic is sometimes difficult.
Screenwriters take liberties with true stories, adding new characters and
creating events that never actually happened. This artistic licence is
permitted in order to be entertained, because real-life is not always
consistently interesting. But without first-hand knowledge of the events, or
access to the writer to find out what’s been changed, it’s hard to criticize
the dramatization.
The real Jay
is an inspiring character: unceasingly positive, never far from a smile,
respectful, gifted, and tenacious, and Weston’s
performance mostly captures these qualities. The movie surrounding him, though,
is dripping with more melodramatic cheese than the pizzas Jay makes. The characters around Jay all have problems that threaten to bring him down – mom’s
alcoholism, his best friend’s drug abuse, a tragic death, even Frosty’s emotional blockage – but it all
comes out like a mashup of old TV movies-of-the-week.
The surfing cinematography is fantastic, and if you
love the sport, you might even enjoy the teaching scenes, which are pretty
standard for a movie of this type, but provide a glimpse into the mindset of
the surfer. Chasing Mavericks rides these crests well, but there’s a lot of
furious paddling between them that doesn’t go anywhere.
Thus Chasing Mavericks is quite an
interesting movie. Do watch it when it gets released on 9 November 2012.
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