THE CRUEL SEA
TOM HANKS writes and stars in a tense World War Two drama about an Atlantic convoy under attack
Greyhound
NEW Genre: Drama Available: Friday 10 July Runs: 91min TVSW says: Heart-stopping thriller led by an impressive cast
FROM STARRING IN the likes of Saving Private Ryan to executive producing Band of Brothers and
The Pacific, Tom Hanks has long been fascinated by World War Two. Now, in Apple TV+’S
Greyhound, the Hollywood star turns his attention to one of the most gruelling phases of the conflict – the Battle of the Atlantic.
The powerful, action-packed film, written by and starring Hanks, is inspired by real events and is also based on CS Forester’s 1955 novel The
Good Shepherd. It examines the battle through the eyes of US naval commander Ernest Krause, played by Hanks, who, in 1942, is given command of his first ship – the destroyer USS Keeling, which has the call sign Greyhound.
Krause soon finds himself under huge pressure when he and his crew have to lead a convoy of boats, containing much-needed Allied soldiers and vital supplies, across the Atlantic.
But as German U-boats target
the flotilla with their deadly torpedoes, can Krause get all the ships to safety?
ISOLATED
‘It’s the middle of the Atlantic, the relentless sea, only a horizon – and amid all that, the unseen enemy,’ says Hanks.‘this happened to human beings who were just like us. They had soul-crushing stresses put on them. It’s timeless drama.’
The movie – which co-stars Elisabeth Shue as Krause’s wife, Evie, and Stephen Graham as
one of his crew – was partly filmed on the real-life destroyer USS Kidd, and shows Krause fighting to overcome his self-doubt and prove himself
during the hazardous mission.
Hanks says he took on the project because he was intrigued by what men like Krause endured. He was also drawn to this crucial
phase of the war, just months after America had joined the Allies, but when Germany showed no sign of being defeated.
‘I’d been looking for material that would explore that period of “hang fire” when no conclusion to the war was in
sight,’ he explains. ‘There was a real sense of stasis during that period. Time
and history came to a standstill.’