Historical drama "Greyhound," which has been kicking around for some time, is finally being released in a limited capacity on Apple TV+, thanks to the ongoing shuffling of movies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. By all accounts, Apple TV+ is still a bit of a niche streaming service, so it will be interesting to see how many people have the opportunity to see this movie. "Greyhound" is a passion project for Tom Hanks, who stars in the film and also wrote the screenplay, and its compact story translates well to
The movie opens with a lot of text ("Greyhound" briefly feels like a PowerPoint presentation) but quickly puts the viewer in the early days of World War II. Commander Ernest Krause (Hanks) is tasked with leading a convoy of ships across the Atlantic while being pursued by Nazi U-boats. "Greyhound," mostly keeps us aboard the titular ship, and right in the middle of Krause's fight to survive the German attack.
War pictures are almost universally grand and epic in both scope and scale, but "Greyhound" clocks in at a brief 90 minutes and is mostly successful in keeping the action alive the entire time. Director Aaron Schneider, who last directed 2009's "Get Low," and cinematographer Shelly Johnson consciously place the camera in the thick of the action, moving it quickly around the ship. This gives the viewer a sense of intense claustrophobia, while helping us feel as if we are part of what's happening on screen.
The action is sufficient and involving, but at the end of the film one question remains: Who are these people aboard the Greyhound? The movie's scant (again, for a war movie) runtime doesn't allow much development of the characters, including Krause, whose thin backstory feels a bit tacked on. We know that he wants to propose to Eva (Elisabeth Shue), but the screenplay doesn't give much agency to her character or that storyline.
Hanks has written some of his movies before. The last one he wrote and starred in was "Larry Crowne," which is a lesser entry in his filmography. He is known as one of the greatest actors of his generation, but when an actor takes on a role as a writer, director, or producer in the films they star in, it suggests a deeper passion for the material. "Greyhound" is more a technical exercise than anything else, and much like Hanks's last effort as a writer, this movie comes up short in character work.
The confined setting will work well for those who watch at home and want to be a part of the immersive style that "Greyhound" offers. However, the style and effects have to be in service of something greater for a movie to be entirely successful, and in this case the movie struggles to match itself in substance.
"Greyhound" will be available on Apple TV+ starting July 10
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