Warner Bros. has released the first In the Heart of the Sea images from director Ron Howard’s upcoming drama.  Based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s excellent book of the same name, the film tells the story of the whaling ship Essex, which in 1819 was rammed by an angry whale in the South Pacific.  The surviving crew drifted for 90 days in three tiny whaleboats and encountered disease, hunger, and eventually cannibalism.  It’s a heartwrenching true story, and it served as the basis for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.  Howard’s fantastic cast is led by Chris Hemsworth as the ship’s first mate, Tom Holland as a young cabin boy who eventually tells his tale to Melville once he’s an adult, and Benjamin Walker as Captain George Pollard Jr.  All of the actors lost a significant amount of weight for the film.  Philbrick’s book is positively enthralling, and after Howard’s swell Rush, I’m really looking forward to seeing how he brings Heart of the Sea to life.

Hit the jump to check out the first In the Heart of the Sea images, and check back on Collider soon to watch the first trailer.  The film also stars Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Jordi Molla.  In the Heart of the Sea opens in theaters on March 13, 2015.

Images via USA Today.

Here’s the official synopsis for In the Heart of the Sea:

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance.  The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.  But that told only half the story.  “Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive.  Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.