Forty miles Southeast of the Louisiana coast, Deepwater Horizon was an offshore drilling unit contracted by oil company BP. In 2010, the rig exploded and sunk, spilling 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and devastating our ecosystem. While this catastrophic event, the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, may be familiar to us, most are unable to recall the 11 men who lost their lives trying to save the rig. Given the barely double-digit number, the deaths are oftentimes dismissed as unimportant.

 

But director Peter Berg seeks to adjust this perspective in his newest film “Deepwater Horizon.” Through a meticulous recreation of the tragedy, Berg explains how it came to be, eliciting reactions that are the furthest thing from detachment.

 

The stage is set when the oil rig is 43 days over schedule. Focused only on potential profit loss, BP executives pressure the crew into drilling, despite clear indications of unpredictability and danger. Rusted machinery hisses, magenta lights flash, meters frantically jump back and forth. However reluctant the crew may be with the majority of their systems down, they are forced to comply. Condescending statements towards the workers such as “there’s the big picture and the little picture, like you” only exemplifies BP’s shameless corruption.

 

The terror that follows is expected. Yet this predictability doesn’t stop Berg from immersing his audience in a landscape of perpetual anxiety. Workers scramble disorientedly in the face of flames and death to save the rig, yet it’s a fight that we, on the other side of the screen, know is inevitably lost. Even the reckless courage of protagonist Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) going back into the flame-engulfed buildings to retrieve missing co-workers isn’t satisfying enough. The undertone of brutality remains consistent throughout the duration of the film, reminding us that this isn’t a story about heroics. Those expecting the fluffy romance or glorious chivalry of a traditional disaster film will be awfully shocked.

Seeing innocent men struggle in a doomed situation is not only heartbreaking, but also infuriating. The violence that dominates a majority of the film isn’t just there for entertainment, but serves to convey an intense injustice, emphasizing that these were real people who suffered for the rapacity of others. “Deepwater Horizon” not only exposes the menace of corporate greed, but pays tribute to the victims whose suffering have been grossly reduced to cold statistics. Berg’s crafting of a  reminds us that events like this will occur again, but only because of our own choices.