True North

The daily struggles of life at sea, as well as the almost manic revelries indulged in to forget about it, are evoked with dark wit.

If only the characters were a little less stock and the script more waterproofed. Halfway through our journey, the cliches start seeping in.

In many ways it's a disturbing story and Hudson offers few gestures of absolution, but those tiny chinks of light are all the more powerful because of it.

The filmmaker is obviously driven by important concerns, and has found a means of representing them, at least in part.