By Anealla Safdar

Film: Chasing Mavericks
Year: 2012
Directors: Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted
Stars: Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Elisabeth Shue
Running Time: 115 min

The aptly named Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) first meets protagonist Jay Moriarity (Cooper Timberline plays the pre-pubescent version) after capturing him from a near-death experience at sea. Jay, a curious child, was fascinated by the waves and Frosty, a moody but nimble surfer, saved his life.

‘Chasing Mavericks’ is based on ‘the true story’ of Santa Cruz’s big-wave riding sensation Jay Moriarity – the soul surfer who met an early death aged 22 little over a decade ago. Frosty was his initially reluctant mentor whose heart was eventually melted by the keen, sometimes troubled and hard-training sportsman. Themes of friendship, family, loss and love are twined with the meat of the story – Jay’s 12 week training to become a gargantuan-wave rider.

The film is directed by two filmmakers. Curtis Hanson (‘L.A. Confidential’, ‘Wonder Boys’) fell ill during shooting so Michael Apted (‘Gorillas in the Mist’, ‘The World is Not Enough’) took over, which explains a feeling of disconnect and unevenness in the film. It switches from looking like a made-for-TV movie to a breathtaking Hollywood blockbuster. Traces of both are felt; Moriarity’s mother Kristy (Elisabeth Shue) is an almost identical character to Eminem’s mum Stephanie (Kim Basinger) in 8 Mile – a film Los-Angeles born Hanson also directed. British Apted, meanwhile, who has a long history of working in television, might be responsible for the film’s ‘The O.C.’-on-water type tendencies.

An overall feeling of inspiration felt throughout, never-boring scenes of water’s mesmerising tricks and some interesting music to go with the waves save this film. Battling against it are a bad American accent from Butler, a stiff performance from Jonny Weston (who plays Jay) and some intensely shoddy dialogue (‘Untrained boys don’t step into the ring with Mike Tyson,’ Frosty warns at one point – but maybe that’s just how people speak in California.)

The pace, slow at first, gradually picks up in the third act and catapults to eye-dampening levels in the finale; it turns out that it’s not just the Maverick waves that are unpredictable.