Written by Tom Hanks, based on the novel by C.S. Forester
Directed by Aaron Schneider
Starring Tom Hanks, Stephen Graham and Michael Benz
Running time: 1 hour and 31 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 for war-related action/violence and brief strong language

by Fiona Underhill

We are currently living in a strange world where the latest action blockbusters starring Chris Hemsworth or Charlize Theron debut on Netflix and a big-budget World War II movie starring America’s Dad, Tom Hanks, is squirreled away on…Apple TV. Although these may appear to be symptoms of the coronavirus, something tells me this is where we are headed anyway. While I’m not one to particularly espouse that the theatrical experience is essential for every film, there is something slightly disquieting about watching stunts and explosions on a small screen or laptop, knowing that they’ve never seen the inside of a cinema. I am thankful that, while we’ve been in this suspended state of animation, we have had plenty of newly released content to keep us going. It’s been a really strong year for cinema, if you know where to find the good stuff.

Tom Hanks has had a mixed decade, with the low-point possibly being Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011). I still shudder to think of 2016 when I watched and reviewed Hologram for the King, Sully, Inferno and The Circle in quick succession. To be fair, Sully wasn’t terrible, just kind of bland and safe, which is where I would also place period pieces Saving Mr Banks (2013), Bridge of Spies (2015) and The Post (2017). The same cannot be said of Cloud Atlas (2012), of course, which was certainly bold and risky. My personal highlights of the last ten years of Hanks are Captain Phillips (2013) and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). Hanks started the decade by starring in a film he also wrote and directed (Larry Crowne) and he now starts the new decade by, again, starring in something he has written (this time it’s an adaptation of a novel). Directing duties have gone to Aaron Schneider who has previous experience of directing acting legends (Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek) in Get Low (2009) but mysteriously has not directed anything since then.

We are introduced to Hanks’s US Navy Commander Ernest Krause and, in the first five minutes, get pretty much any backstory we’re going to get in a brief Christmas scene with a woman he wants to marry – played by Elisabeth Shue. We discover that Krause will be captaining a ship for the first time in his sixties, but no sense of what he’s been doing up until this point. The action quickly moves to the titular warship in question, whose role it is to support the merchant ships taking supplies and troops from the US to Europe and defend them from German U-boats. The most vulnerable part of the crossing is in the middle section of the North Atlantic, where air support can no longer be provided. The crew is made up of some excellent actors including Stephen Graham (second-in-command Charlie), Karl Glusman (sonar technician Epstein) and Rob Morgan as Cleveland – Krause’s personal ‘mess mate.’ Morgan, who recently impressed in The Last Black Man in San Francisco and The Photograph, is worthy of a much larger, meatier role than this. The larger crew is populated by appropriately baby-faced actors, emphasizing the youth of even the officers on board.

The film is well-structured, as it is divided into “watches'' and the relentless nature of the work during this heightened period of alert is conveyed through the lack of rest or respite for anyone, particularly the Captain, who barely has time to eat or sleep. One of the strongest techniques in ramping up the tension is the overlapping dialogue in the relaying of orders. It is extremely satisfying to see experts using robust analogue equipment, taking measurements, making calculations and utilizing the information quickly. There is a direct cause-and-effect and the weight of responsibility lays heavily on Krause’s shoulders. Every decision he makes could be life or death. Hanks’s performance is good, of course, I just wish we knew more about this character. We know he’s religious and loves Elisabeth Shue – and that’s all we get. The score by Blake Neely mostly uses standard techniques to increase our anxiety, but does effectively employ a haunting wailing tone over shots of the Wolfpack (group of U-boats) which sounds almost like whale song.

One element that stretches the bounds of credulity, but is presumably based on first-hand accounts, is that the crew of the Greyhound receive transmissions from the Wolfpack, taunting them - “the grey wolf is hungry”…“the sea favors the grey wolf on the hunt, not the hound on the run.” This is the first time I’ve really felt frustrated that I can’t see a film on a big screen since early March, to be honest. The theatrical experience would definitely have enhanced Greyhound, without a doubt. There is a thrilling moment where the Greyhound has a near-miss with a large merchant ship and there is one particular spectacular tracking shot – of the torpedoes and charges going off below the water, explosions above water, through the clouds and up to reveal the Northern Lights. The cinematography by Shelly Johnson (who shot Captain America: The First Avenger) is strong overall, making full use of the contrasts between the confined spaces on the ship and the wide overhead shots that show the manouevres of the boats as if they are chess pieces.

World War II (along with typewriters) is clearly an area of interest for Hanks, as he produced the excellent television shows Band of Brothers and The Pacific and wrote some episodes. He has done a good job within this genre again, although TV can provide the one thing that Greyhound sorely lacks – depth of characterization and backstory. My main frustration is that I didn’t know any of the characters well enough to care about them, other than in an abstract sense and also the waste of actors of the calibre of Graham and Morgan. Greyhound still manages to be tense and thrilling at times, well-paced and structured and definitely worth watching for its brisk running time.

Find the Greyhound, July 10th on Apple TV.