"Deepwater Horizon": A Film for Our Time

Deepwater Horizon is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
Photo Courtesy of thehollywoodnews.com

Oil. Oil derivatives power our cars, our homes, and many other things we use in our lives. We use it almost every single day, but we give almost no thought as to where, exactly this oil comes from. The film “Deepwater Horizon,” released in theaters this past weekend, addresses not only the issue of how oil is dug up, but also the many hazards that come with the digging. It is not simply ‘based on a true story,’ but rather is a retelling of true events.

    Starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russel, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien, and Kate Hudson, the film tells the very real story of the 2010 BP oil spill that occurred off of the coast of Louisiana. Walking into the film, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect; all of the previews and trailers that I had seen beforehand made it seem like some kind of an action-thriller piece. I was happy for my first impressions to immediately be proven wrong.

    As the movie starts, we are introduced to Wahlberg’s character: Mike Williams, the Chief Electrical Technician on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. We are taken through a day in his life and introduced to his family as he prepares to leave for twenty-one days aboard the rig. Next we are introduced to Andrea Fleytas - played by Rodriguez - who works on the bridge of the rig. We meet offshore installation manager -A.K.A the rig master - Mr. Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and floorhand Caleb Holloway (Dylan O’Brien) on board the rig. In these quick few opening introductions, the audience comes to know and care about not only these few key members of the Deepwater Horizon, but through their interactions and relationships, the rest of the crew as well.

    Despite its marketing as an action-thriller I found the film to be heartfelt and motivating. I  entered the theater unsure of what to expect and left the theater unbelievably angry. “Deepwater Horizon” is a very real example of the results of corporate greed and cutting corners. In the movie we are introduced to several BP executives who refuse to listen to the crew and, ultimately, end up causing the disaster that took eleven lives.

    I left the theater angry because they got away with it. After being charged with eleven counts of manslaughter, the BP oil executives somehow managed to have all charges against them dismissed in 2015. They managed this despite the fact that they caused one of - if not the - largest ecological disasters in the twenty-first century, the effects of which can still be seen and are still being monitored and studied today.

    The Deepwater Horizon burned for over twenty-four hours before finally sinking. A sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days before it was capped, but the well was not declared sealed until a little over  a month later; even now, however the well still leaks.

    Out of 126 crew members, seventeen were injured and eleven were missing, eventually declared dead. At the end of the film, we are not only shown C-SPAN footage of the hearing surrounding the events on the Deepwater Horizon, we are shown names and photos of all those who were lost. People whose families received absolutely no compensation from the mulit-million dollar settlement BP oil paid out.

    I recommend this film for everyone. It it heart-wrenching and thought-provoking and is something that, in this time of reliance on fossil fuels and oil products, I believe everyone should see. And when you see it, I pose for you a series of questions: is our current reliance on resources that are not only potentially damaging to our environment but also posing extreme dangers to all those who work to provide them for us really worth it? In the long run, would it not be better to switch to safer, cleaner alternative energy resources that pose less of a threat and will, eventually, end up costing us less? Should our need to have everything as soon as immediately possible truly be at the top of our priority list? And can we truly place a value on human life?