Everest
Everest
Directed by:
Baltasar KormákurCinematography:
Salvatore TotinoComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, Thomas M. Wright (more)VOD (5)
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Expert mountaineers Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) and Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) lead rival expeditions to scale the highest peak on Earth, Mount Everest. Their quest becomes dangerous when the fearless climbers collide head-on with one of the fercest blizzards in the mountain’s history. Faced against impossible conditions, the limits of human spirit and physical endurance are put to the ultimate test in an epic struggle for survival in this chilling, edge-of-your-seat thriller based on actual events. (Universal Pictures UK)
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There couldn’t be a better director for such a story than Baltasar Kormákur. In my opinion, there is no other European nation than the Icelandic nation more connected with nature, and therefore they could tell totally everything with such a story. But since Baltasar is an Icelander and what’s more a capable director, he took up the storywhere the actors play second fiddle and Everest itself really plays the main role. I gained a lot of respect for it right from the first minutes and as Baltasar had no less capable cameraman, I experienced not only respect, but I also enjoyed the endless sceneries that were absolutely flawless. And the best part was that digital technology is used so little that you won’t even notice it. This movie is a huge film experience that I won’t easily forget. In many scenes, it says more than any viewer can catch, and at the same time, it tries to tell that story from 1996 as it actually could have happened, in a raw and realistic manner.
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A pleasantly civil, down-to-earth, and male spectacle (despite the presence of female elements) that wrings pathos from the fact that the protagonists are really hurting and the adrenaline pumps as if only in the background. This is because they die without grand gestures and the returns from the brink of death are dogged to the last breath. The casting couldn't be better because these actors cut through liters of emotion and personal feelings even over the phone, and in the audiovisual mode it's borderline hypnotic at times. I might have trimmed the more rambling first half a bit, but the second half is a pure action adventure that will have you locked in your seat by the time the credits roll.
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The filmmakers’ indecisiveness about which of the roughly six more significant characters would be the main protagonist probably stems in part from the fact that they relied on the memories of all of the survivors and their loved ones in an attempt at a comprehensive view of the tragedy instead of relying on a single source (Krakauer’s book, which had already been made into the television movie Into Thin Air: Death on Everest, would have served the purpose). No time or space remains for the more thorough development of the characters, who comprise merely a few types; usually the more interesting they are, the more charismatic the actor playing them (the cocky Texan, the easy-going American mountain guide, the responsible New Zealand mountain guide, the humble mailman who wants to fulfil his dream, the loving and caring women). Despite the faint outlining of the characters, the first hour of the film is important, as that is when, in addition to the dangers that await them, we are presented with the relationships between the characters and their ambitions and motivations. We thus better remember their names and later, despite the layer of frozen snow and the dark glasses on their faces, we can recognise who is shouting at whom. At the same time, the fatal decisions that some of the characters make (the bond between Rob and Doug) are more understandable and we are also better able to find our bearings in the individual sections of the journey to the summit, which are presented to us in advance. Whereas the formula of a disaster film is fulfilled by spreading attention among multiple characters, the disaster itself does not serve as punishment for the sins committed by the immoral characters. Atypically, perhaps out of respect for the victims, this is a drama about a group of good people who try to help other good people (The Martian will probably offer a similar story soon). There is no enemy to be defeated, nor is there a character who is supposed to see the light and undergo a transformation based on experience (if he had been a bit more inattentive toward his wife, Beck could have fulfilled this pattern of development). The will to survive is crucial. There is something similarly and likably old-world about the idea of “we have to help each other” as there is about the strictly linear narrative with no flashbacks and with a single (inappropriate) dream sequence. All of the information conveyed, which seems needless on the surface, is put to good use by Kormákur in the film’s second, extremely intense half with astonishing momentum (literally in places) and only a few sentimental moments (though the narrative is structured around them – see the storyline with the unborn child – so they are not superfluous). It serves no purpose to confront the protagonists with the question that will probably occur to every viewer who is not a mountain climber – why do they do it? After all, the rules of the game are not set by people in the second half, but by nature. In the spirit of the cinema of attractions (not intellectual), the aim is to provide an immediate visceral experience. In hindsight, I realise that’s not much. Immediately after the screening (IMAX 3D), however, with the subsiding feeling that I had just descended from the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, I found that I could not have wanted anything more. 75%
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After a second screening (and having learned about the making of this film), I'm pretty clear: the production values of Kormákur’s film are breathtaking. Whether it's the visuals, the actual locations where it was filmed, the plethora of great special effects that are naturally incorporated into the picture so that you don't even recognize them, and behind all of that there is a subtle tribute to the guys for whom mountains are everything. We can make a comparison here with, for example, the rather dumb Vertical Limit, where the mountains are just a vehicle for stupid stunts that are a laughing stock for real climbers. Everest, in contrast, has a real believable dimension and yet it is deep and human. The fact that you may think mountaineers are weirdos with obsessive compulsive behavior who gamble with their lives is actually pretty irrelevant, petty, and just your problem. Everest can proudly stand alongside some famous French mountaineering-themed films, which are pretty good on their own, and it’s certainly the best mountaineering film Hollywood has ever produced.
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Baltasar Kormákur knows how to make manly films and Hollywood obviously likes him. After the heist thriller Contraband and the action comedy 2 Guns, he's here with Everest, his most ambitious project yet. And he has succeeded. The director more or less ignores the pathetic scenes and tries to approach the story realistically. During the climb up the highest mountain in the world and the fight for life on the descent, we don't see scenes of a half-dressed hero holding his friend over a precipice with one hand and beating a chamois with the other. When there's dying, it's no bullshit. When there's a fight for life, it's over the top. And the fact that it's got really good actors makes it great to watch.
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