Wolf Hunting season is now open!
Introduction
Greyhound is a 2020 war film adapted from the 1955 novel The Good Shepard by C.S Forester. This film was directed by newcomer Aaron Schneider. If you have not heard of this film, it is because it was released solely on Apply TV+ with very little media coverage, not because you have been living under a rock this year suffering from cabin fever.
Setting and Plot
Greyhound follows the story of Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) a captain commanding a small fleet of warships escorting a fleet of merchant ships across the Atlantic. Krause directs the convoy from his flagship “the Greyhound”. With the exception of an initial flashback revolving around a romantic subplot at the start of the film, everything else takes place at sea.
While journeying across the Atlantic, they come across the Wolfpack, a German elite U-boat force commanded by a vessel called the Gray Wolf, who spend the majority of the film on the hunt for the Allied convoy. In their pursuit, the Nazis employ intense psychological warfare, engaging in tactics such as intercepting communications to leave threats and howls, or insane but pointless stunts to intimidate the crew of the Greyhound and their allies.
Characters and Performances
Tom Hanks really takes centre stage as Captain Ernest Krause. His role as a captain crossing the Atlantic for the first time is inspiring. As this two-day long battle progresses, Ernest becomes more fatigued with each passing moment. This man’s determination is guided by the lives depending on him and tempered by the hope that his true love is waiting for him at home. Throughout the entire ordeal, the man does not sleep or eat, a fact that causes mounting concern about his overall state among his crew, especially his messmate, George Cleveland (Rob Morgan).
Despite the numerous actors performing a variety of roles on the ship, Hanks shows how his character shoulders the increasing weight of responsibility. Most of the marines under his command have similar outfits, ethnicity and hairstyles, making it significantly difficult to tell them apart during the chaos. In one scene, three crewmates die, one of whom Ernest knew personally, yet it took a second viewing of the film for me to figure out who that man was.
I noticed that, during to the short running time of this film, the crew did little for me to get to know them. Outside of their jobs, they had no real personality to go with any of them, and at times crewmates would often disappear in a sea of green uniforms. If the film placed some extra time to introduce some of the characters beforehand, maybe their deaths would have had more of an impact. Other ships’ captains and crew are not shown for almost all of the film, and this goes for the enemy ships as well. The most we get are brief communications and sometimes threats from allied and enemy ships.
Set Pieces
As a war film, Greyhound delivers well and its cleverly made action set pieces had me at the edge of my seat. At several points, the film feels like a giant Mexican standoff with ships circling one another, probing for weaknesses until those moments when all hell breaks loose in the form of raining heavy artillery.
A couple of scenes in this film require some suspension if disbelief in order to be enjoyed. The strange intimidation tactics displayed by the Germans led to wonder why the Nazis don’t just blast Tom Hanks and his fellows when they have the chance, choosing instead to occupy themselves with what I can only assume to be giggling to themselves.
Conclusion
The film comes across as rushed, only clocking in at a total of 90 minutes, most of which is occupied by a naval battle, along with Tom Hanks looking and feeling increasingly exhausted. With the rest of the crew really just running around shouting orders and sometimes looking concerned at their captain’s fatigue, the majority of the acting felt like a one-man acting show with a lot of extras. For a film like this, adding some extra minutes for some more moments to characterize the crew would have worked wonders.
As a war film, Greyhound provides an excellent perspective of one of the most consequential sea-battles in World War 2 through the eyes of the weary yet steadfast Captain Ernest as he goes head-to-head with the Wolfpack. Despite its shorter length compared to other war movies, I still would suggest giving this one a watch.
