You need to see Tom Hanks’ latest film Greyhound. I know all the movie theaters are still closed right now (tragically), but this film will not lose any of its punch while you watch it on a smaller screen at home. It is the movie version of C.S.Forester’s historical fiction, The Good Shepherd, a tale of extreme fortitude of a U.S. Navy commander as he leads a convoy of troop and supply ships across the Atlantic in 1942.
It is freezing weather, there are not enough Allied warships to protect the convoy, and he runs out of air cover. For almost three days the convoy must pass through an area of the Atlantic ocean prowled by Nazi submarines known as “Wolf Packs”. You know the skill and power of a film when you feel as though you are locked in relentless combat with the enemy, when you feel pain and sorrow over the loss of crewmen, when you rejoice with the victory of the righteous.
I say “the righteous” partially because Tom Hanks surprisingly portrays a very devout Christian man who prays throughout the film. His faith is clearly and distinctly portrayed from the very first scene to the very end. When you consider that this film was made by Hanks, Apple TV, Playtone, and Zhengfu Pictures (owned by Communist China), it really makes you scratch your head.
It is also the victory of the righteous because the Allies were righteously fighting the tyrants of National Socialism. They had to win in order to preserve freedom. If they lost the battle of the Atlantic, the Nazis would prevail and liberty would be extinguished.
Although there is some vulgarity by a sailor (who quickly apologizes to the Christian commander), this is a film about faith, courage, loyalty, mercy, and determination that everyone from teenage years on up needs to see.