From Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard comes a gripping true story that inspired Herman Melville's literary classic, Moby-Dick . Set in 1820, the film follows the crew of the Essex, a whaling ship from Nantucket, that ventures into the vast Pacific. When a massive, vengeful sperm whale attacks with seemingly intelligent ferocity, the ship is destroyed, stranding the sailors in open boats for 90 days. Facing starvation, thirst, and the relentless elements, the survivors are pushed to the brink of morality and madness.