The North Water (Season 1)

The North Water (2021) is a five-part BBC miniseries — watch online on iFILM — directed by Andrew Haigh from Ian McGuire's 2016 novel of the same name. The story takes place on a doomed whaling ship heading into the Arctic, and it does not look away.

Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon played by Jack O'Connell, signs on as ship's doctor to escape what happened in India. The man he ends up sharing the voyage with is Henry Drax — Colin Farrell, unrecognisable under layers of grime and matted beard, a harpooner with no conscience and no ceiling on what he'll do. Their collision isn't accidental; the ice just speeds it up.

Shot on location in Greenland and Norway in real winter conditions, the series carries a physical coldness that's hard to manufacture on a soundstage. Stream The North Water online on iFILM.