Finestkind (2023)
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A group of fishermen find themselves entangled in a dangerous smuggling operation after a series of unfortunate events at sea.
The story
On a visit to New Bedford, Massachusetts, college alumnus Charlie visits his elder half-brother Tom, a scallop fisherman. Seeking an escape from his routine life, Charlie joins Tom on a fishing excursion aboard the boat, the Harmony. The voyage takes a perilous turn when the boat suffers an internal explosion and sinks in rough seas. The surviving crew members are rescued and later find themselves in a desperate situation when Tom's boat, the Finestkind, is seized by authorities after a failed attempt to fish in Canadian waters. To save the vessel, the crew is coerced into a high-stakes heroin smuggling deal.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After the Harmony sinks, the crew is rescued and Charlie meets Mabel, a drug dealer. Following a dispute with his employers, Tom is tasked by his father, Ray, to captain the Finestkind. During a period of tension, Mabel takes Charlie on a drug run. Later, the crew attempts to fish in Canadian waters but is caught and their boat is seized. To pay a $100,000 fine, Mabel arranges a heroin smuggling deal with a man named Weeks. The crew successfully receives the drugs but is later betrayed by rival dealers. A confrontation ensues where Tom is accused of snitching, and Weeks takes a hostage. The situation escalates until Ray, who is secretly battling cancer, intervenes. Ray kills Weeks and his associates to save the crew. Ultimately, Charlie's father agrees to pay the fine, and the crew is freed to sail the Finestkind again while Ray remains in custody.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 126
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Brian Helgeland
- Writers
- Brian Helgeland · writer
- Cast and characters
- Ben Foster; Toby Wallace; Jenna Ortega; Tommy Lee Jones
- Genres
- crime thriller; crime drama
- Themes
- family loyalty; desperation; consequences of crime
- Tone and mood
- tense; gritty
- Setting
- New Bedford, Massachusetts and at sea.
- Premise and plot tags
- maritime; crime; brotherhood
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 44 · scale: 100 · review count: 7
- Production trivia
- The script was written in the 1980s.; The film was originally intended to star Heath Ledger.; The film was originally intended to star Jake Gyllenhaal, Ansel Elgort, and Zendaya.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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