In The Heart Of The Sea Leaves Out A Wild True Story Detail About Owen Chase & Matthew Joy After The Sinking
Ron Howard’s 2015 drama In the Heart of the Sea tackles the true story of the 1820 sinking of the whaling ship Essex, but leaves out some unexpected developments after the survivors’ rescue. In the Heart of the Sea’s cast is led by Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Cillian Murphy, and Benjamin Walker, portraying the real-life crew members whose ship is wrecked during an encounter with a large sperm whale. For those who survive the initial wreck, their journey to rescue is a harrowing ordeal that results in cannibalism, with the men later still being haunted by these experiences at sea.
Though many of the crew members were strangers when they set off on the Essex, that wasn’t the case for Owen Chase (Hemsworth) and Matthew Joy (Murphy). The movie reveals that the two were almost like brothers, having sailed together since they were boys. Therefore, when Joy was dying at sea after suffering a brutal head wound, his fate was unsurprisingly taken the hardest by Chase. However, Joy and Chase’s intertwined story doesn’t stop with the former’s death, as In the Heart of the Sea’s ending leaves out some details about Chase’s connected personal life after rescue.
Owen Chase Married Matthew Joy's Widow, Nancy, After His First Wife Died
Chase Married Nancy Joy Less Than A Year After His Wife Peggy Died
When Thomas Nickerson is explaining to Herman Melville what happened to the other survivors, he doesn’t tell the Moby Dick author that Owen Chase went on to marry Matthew Joy’s widow (via Nantucket Historical Association). In the movie’s final moments, Chase is seen reuniting with his wife, Peggy, and meeting his daughter, which is accurate to the true story behind In the Heart of the Sea. However, Peggy ended up dying just a few years after he returned home, with Chase then marrying Matthew Joy’s widow, Nancy Joy, less than a year later.
Since the main hero marrying his dead best friend’s wife shortly after his own wife’s death isn’t quite the poignant and inspirational ending that In the Heart of the Sea was going for, it makes sense that this detail was omitted from the movie. Still, it highlights how the crew’s lives were forever entangled after their experiences on the Essex, and that the personal tragedies they faced didn't stop once they returned to Nantucket. Sadly, Chase would lose his second wife about eight years later, as Nancy Joy died a few weeks after giving birth to their daughter in 1833.
Owen Chase Also Later Sailed With Matthew Joy's Brother, Reuben
Chase's Connection With The Joy Family Lasted Long After Matthew & Nancy's Deaths
Another detail about Owen Chase’s life after In the Heart of the Sea’s rescue that Nickerson leaves out is that the First Mate went to sail with Matthew Joy’s brother, Reuben Joy. Several years after Nancy Joy’s tragic death, Chase was captaining the Charles Carrol when they met the whaling ship Hero, which was captained by Reuben. According to the ship’s log, the two ships sailed alongside one another for two months, further highlighting how close Chase remained to the Joy family after Matthew’s sad In the Heart of the Sea fate.
Source: NHA
In the Heart of the Sea
- Release Date
- December 11, 2015
- Runtime
- 121minutes
- Director
- Ron Howard
- Writers
- Charles Leavitt
Cast
Brendan Gleeson
Based on the real-life event that inspired Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, first mate of the whaling ship Essex who must fight for his life in the middle of the ocean when a whale destroys his ship, killing most of his crew and stranding him and a few survivors on a lifeboat. Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson also star.
- Budget
- $100 million
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
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