True Spirit Review
This inoffensive Netflix biopic sails steadily as it recounts the incredible tale of Jessica Watson.
Jessica Watson (Teagan Croft), the Aussie sailor who famously became the youngest woman to solo circumnavigate the globe, starts her journey in the face of a media storm. As all around her are telling her she can’t, she takes off with only really the support of her father (Josh Lawson), mother (Anna Paquin) and coach (Cliff Curtis). But even those relationships are tested as her globe-spanning journey faces trials and tribulations, threatening not only her goal, but also her very life itself.
Directed by Sarah Spillane, True Spirit is hardly an exercise in breaking down moulds. Odd, perhaps, given that the subject matter is about someone who pushed the boundaries so much, that this film would be so straight to the point and middling.
The entire piece plays out exactly as you would expect - one step above an episode of Australian television. There’s all the regular beats, shoehorned together with the barest hint of familial chemistry. It’s no surprise when Watson sets sail, no surprise when she hits turbulent waters right at the end of the second act, and of course no shock when she brings the boat into shore.
That feeling of general lowest hanging fruitedness about the piece is hardly helped by a number of the elements. The script is basic in the extreme, although thankfully without anything of particularly poor edifice. Josh Lawson and Anna Paquin turn in truly barren, paint by numbers performances. Curtis is a bit of fun, but this is still as simple as simple gets for him. Couple that with a selection of poor CGI, a number of story artifices that just don’t work, and shot selection that screams low-budget, and this could be another missable Netflix release.
However, there is something to like here. Watson’s real life story is incredibly moving, and no matter what the movie does with that, you can’t shake the enjoyment of hearing Watson’s tale again. Croft, too, is suitably convincing as the young sailor - the earnestness of her character no slight on her performance. And while the sailing scenes are never remotely convincing, the occasional dip into the beauty and wonder of a world on the ocean so far removed from the rest of society (be it a star filled sky and ocean, or a pod of dolphins) touches on a joie de vivre that the rest of the film lacks.
Ultimately, True Spirit is a perfectly fine watch, and while it will barely occupy your thoughts for the length of its runtime, let alone for much longer afterwards, it is an inoffensive look at a truly remarkable real life tale.
