228 MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
to be cut loose to save the ship. The Surprise then heads to the Galapagos Islands
(885 nautical miles west of Ec ua dor), where Aubrey is sure that England’s whaling
fleet will be attacked by Acheron. When Surprise gets to the Galapagos, they find
survivors from a whaling ship already sunk by Acheron. Aubrey deci ded to follow
after the privateer. Surprise sits on a calm sea for days on end, and the crew gets
cabin fever. Midshipman Hollom (Lee Ingleby), already unpop u lar with the crew,
is named a Jonah figure (i.e., a hex on the ship). As the tension rises, Carpenter’s
Mate Joseph Nagel (Bryan Dick) bumps into Hollom on the deck and refuses to
apologize or salute. Capt. Aubrey witnesses the offense and orders that Nagel be
flogged with 12 lashes for insubordination. Hollom kills himself that night. The
next morning, Aubrey holds a memorial for Hollom. The wind resumes, and Sur-
prise continues to pursue the Acheron. The next day, Marine Capt. Howard (Chris
Larkin) accidentally shoots Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), the ship’s surgeon,
in the abdomen. Aubrey abandons his pursuit of the Acheron and returns to the
Galapagos so that his surgeon can be healed. Maturin uses a mirror and performs
his own surgery. Maturin explores the island and collects samples for study, but
the captain and crew soon head out to battle when they realize that Acheron is close
at hand. Aubrey knows that he will need to come close to Acheron in order to board
and dismantle her, so he disguises Surprise as a whaling ship spewing black smoke
from a faux tryworks. The French ship takes the bait and moves in to capture what
it thinks is a whaling vessel. Surprise captures Acheron after the crew engages in
fierce hand- to- hand combat. Both ships have their damages repaired, and the cap-
tive Acheron is taken to Chile while Surprise stays in the Galapagos. As Acheron
departs, Maturin reveals that the real ship’s doctor had perished months prior: the
man posing as the ship’s doctor was actually the French captain. Aubrey gives the
order to change course to intercept the Acheron and escort her to Valparaíso and
for the crew to assume battle stations. The two play a piece by Luigi Boccherini as
the Surprise turns in pursuit of the Acheron once more.Reception
After the better part of a year in post- production, Master and Commander had its
North American premiere on 14 November 2003. Staggered releases elsewhere in
the world began days later and ran to March 2004. During its 26- week domestic
run (widest release: 3,101 theaters), the film grossed $93.9 million. Foreign receipts
came in at $118 million, for a grand total of $212 million. Deducting $30 mil-
lion spent on marketing, Master and Commander cleared a healthy $32 million.
The movie was nominated for 10 Acad emy Awards, winning 2 Oscars, for Best
Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Best Sound Editing (Richard King). Reviews
were strong. Roger Ebert called the movie “an exuberant sea adventure told with
uncommon intelligence... grand and glorious, and touching in its attention to its
characters. Like the work of David Lean, it achieves the epic without losing sight of
the human, and to see it is to be reminded of the way great action movies can rouse
and exhilarate us, can affirm life instead of simply dramatizing its destruction”
(Ebert, 14 November 2003). Other critics described it as “satisfying,” “an expansive