CHANGE OF PACE
Chris Pine draws inspiration from past film heroes for ‘The Finest Hours’ role
Chris Pine is no stranger to sequels, prequels and reboots. He plays Captain Kirk in the latest round of “Star Trek” movies, essayed the role of the title villain in “Horrible Bosses 2,” resurrected Jack Ryan in “Shadow Recruit” and is about to be seen as Steve Trevor in “Wonder Woman,” which opens in 2017.
But Pine’s latest movie “The Finest Hours” represents a real change of pace for the actor. It is, in fact, a departure from the lion’s share of movies made in Hollywood these days.
With nary a superhero or possible spinoff in sight, the fact-based film is a tribute to the bravery of a few members of the Coast Guard who pulled off one of the most remarkable rescues at sea.
“The Finest Hours” is set in 1952 when a blizzard helped split an oil tanker in half off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts. While the fore section of the ship crashed to the bottom of the sea, the aft section remained afloat for a few hours, filled with surviving sailors desperate for a way off the sinking vessel.
To the rescue comes Bernie Webber (Pine), Andrew Fitzgerald (Kyle Gallner), Richard Livesey (Ben Foster) and Ervine Maske (John Magaro).
“This movie reminded me a lot of a film I did called ‘Unstoppable’ in that it’s driven by [action],” says Pine, 35. “You just have this kind of driving thriller… and it’s not all that complicated of a film or a story.
“There’s a simple elegance to it. It’s about ordinary men doing extraordinary things. I love that.”
As he was shooting the film, Pine couldn’t help but flashback to some of his favorite actors from the 1940s and 1950s who routinely anchored tales of remarkable heroism.
“Sometimes, I felt like Burt Lancaster or Jimmy Stewart,” says Pine. “And Gary Coo- per too.”
Unlike just about every other movie made by the big studios these days, “The Finest Hours” is not ripe for a sequel. It’s a story, with a beginning, middle and end, that unfolds over the course of two compact hours.
“I like to have a job,” says Pine. “I am in the .001 percentile of actors that work steadily, thank God. It’s not false humility; I’m really happy to work. I get great gigs, meet awesome people, get paid well, have a fantastic life, learn a bunch.
“But ‘The Finest Hours’ is, honestly, a rarity. [It’s rare] that a big studio will spend $80 million dollars on a film that is a oneoff, a movie that’s not [part of a potential franchise.]”
The period setting of “The Finest Hours” is another reason why the film stands out
from the pack. While some actors have a tough time relating to characters from a long gone era, Pine says shooting a movie set in the 1950s felt like a blessing.
“I love this period,” says the actor who was born in Los Angeles, the son of working actors Robert Pine (Sgt. Joseph Getraer on “CHiPs”) and Gwynne Gilford.
“I love the ‘ 40s. I love the ‘ 50s. I love the style of the clothes. I love how the women looked. I love the dances. I love the music. I love the amber color of the lights. I love the cars. I’m
in love with all of it.”
Pine also found it very easy to shoot the movie in small-town Chatham, which provided a backdrop for a number of key scenes. Before filming began, the actors were given the opportunity to visit the Coast Guard station in town, and get a sense of the camaraderie that exists among the seamen.
“In the cafeteria, there’s the same bench where the boys [depicted in ‘The Finest Hours’] sat and shared a coffee after their night, and laughed and joked around,” says Pine. “It’s kind of stunning.”
Before filming began, Pine did quite a bit of research into the real-life event which inspired the
movie. For the actor, one of the keys to understanding the heroic Bernie Webber was discovering an audio tape of an interview which Bernie had given to his local newspaper more than a decade after the rescue.
“The man is bored of talking about [the event],” says Pine. “But he’s got this wonderful New England lilt, and he talks, like, ‘this happened and then that happened.’ He’s just a bythe-books, regular Joe.
“It was very illuminating for me to listen to that. I kind of drew whatever I could out of that. Bernie just seemed like a man who didn’t want to talk about [his heroism]. He wanted to get on with his life. He had a family, believed in
God, loved the ocean, and that was that.”
Pine says, in the end, it was easy putting himself in Bernie’s shoes.
“My touchstones were fear and anxiety and I know a lot about those two awful emotions,” says the actor. “Bernie was just wide-eyed and … and insecure and I know all of those feelings so I just turned up the volume on those emotions.”
Still to come from Pine is “Wonder Woman,” another movie set in the past. But, as far as the actor is concerned, there’s little similarity between “The Finest Hours” and the latest from D.C. Comics.
“Steve Trevor is not Bernie,” says Pine. “Steve is
roguish. He’s a cynical realist who’s seen the awful, brutish nature of modern civilization. He’s a worldly guy. I think he’s a charming guy too so it’s going to be a great, fun film with some incredibly deep, interesting, and morally relevant themes.”
“Wonder Woman” is the rare superhero movie to star a woman (Gal Gadot) and be directed by a woman (“Monster’s” Patty Jenkins). Pine believes that Jenkins has a real feel for the material.
“Patty is just directing the daylights out of it,” he says. “It’s shot beautifully. It feels so wonderfully period but also with this wonderful pop sensibility.”
While little is yet known
about the plot or setting of “Wonder Woman,” at least part of the saga is set during World War I, an era rarely seen in films.
“World War I is another time I love,” says Pine. “The costume design on ‘Wonder Woman’ alone is incredible. We have scenes with 500 extras, all in period dress.
“I’ve never been on a film with extras-casting as beautifully done as it is on this film. It highlights a really important point in that when background casting is done well it can make or break a scene. [When I look out], I see people in deep background that are having entire lives.
“It’s awesome. It’s total make-believe land.”