The Titanic Inquiry
To save the Titanic is an interesting mix of documentary and drama that explores how the engineers on board the doomed vessel fought to keep her afloat and ablaze for that little bit longer. In this docudrama, Liam Cunningham’s narration implies that it was only through their selfless bravery in the bowels of the ship that she managed to last over an hour and a half after she should have gone down. But it doesn’t really reconcile these two ways of looking at what happened so that you’re left with the feeling it ought to have chosen one or the other yet still remains one of the most compelling accounts we have of what remains among history’s biggest single events.
I can see why they went for such a weird cocktail of documentary filmmaking and storytelling, even if it was painstakingly researched. Who wants to sit through talking heads describing something we already know by heart? But at the same time, cutting away to pictures and diagrams and archive footage allows them to give context where otherwise it might seem forced into a conventional narrative.
That said, there are moments when these two formats seem almost incompatible. Liam Cunningham has a great voice, but those interludes tend to yank us out of our seats and then take us ten minutes to get comfortable again; plus there’s no reason (for instance) why necessary information couldn’t have been woven into scenes there’s a brilliantly done bit where we hear from the ship’s designer himself (via blueprints) exactly how he can claim she’s “unsinkable,” for example especially given that they could fill in some points via framing device of inquiry.
Then again: minor complaint about format. Lower decks pov is very interesting way into this story; some incredibly powerful moments result. Boiler staff workers are so trapped within engineering section walls they don’t know what’s happening when water starts coming in: “What the hell?” “Why would they tell us greasers?”
It’s hard for any media project about the disaster to escape the shadow of a certain big-budget film, and you can feel James Cameron’s version of events looming over this one. Again, there is much made of class divisions on board ship even a scene in which a working-class character climbs up onto top deck below non-functioning fourth funnel and looks out at world below him; stops short of saying “king of world,” but can’t help but bring that moment to mind.
However, the movie does a really good job of being its own thing. One of the deckhands tries to get in a lifeboat but then realizes it’s his first time on the upper decks. A table full of gentlemen who wouldn’t normally give him a second glance even offers him some brandy. It’s a nice little scene that speaks volumes about what kinds of division were accepted as normal in British society back then.
Naturally, this means that the film also tries to look at the class struggle on board through an Irish lens. There is, for example, quite a heavy focus on the Catholic-Protestant dynamic among the crew members. It does lay it on a bit thick at times, but it’s an approach to this kind of thing that feels very Irish and works well enough most times anyway. The writing is solid stuff and there’s usually enough tension in any given scene to keep things moving along nicely.
What they do with sound design here alone should have been enough to make Saving The Titanic notable. I’m talking about how you can actually see and hear each wave crashing against the side of the ship or how they recreated those sounds around you so perfectly that you can tell when something changes like when that quiet hum made by every ship ever stops because all other noises suddenly do too.
Acting wise, David Wilmont steals the show as Chief Engineer Jamie Bell; while known internationally for his supporting role in ‘The Guard’, he really comes into his own with this performance which feels like he was born to play it such is just how natural everything appears when these two are together onscreen. Other standout performances include Owen Roe (Board Of Inquiry) and Hugh O’Connor (Transfer). Unfortunately however Ciarán McMenamin struggles somewhat during what should be one very big dramatic moment between them though surely script problems must take some blame here because even under crisis circumstances where else could such confession possibly come from but out of nowhere?
Saving the Titanic is a smart take on one of history’s most famous disasters. It approaches its topic in a different way that not many would have considered, and has strong performances all around. The only real downfall with this film is that it tries to do too much, however that is only a minor issue in relation to how well an Irish movie like this can actually be made.
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