MOVIE REVIEW: Everest (2015)

I was trying to decide whether to see this and The Visit at the cinema yesterday, but after changing my mind several times, I settled on Everest. I went with my Mum to an afternoon 3D screening and ended up being the only people there. I'll preface by saying just how much I enjoyed not having people kicking the back of my seat, or phones going off every five minutes, or people talking the entire film. I'm not normally one to nitpick like this, but it surprised me just how much it made a difference.

Everest tells the moving true story of the 1996 disaster on Mount Everest that saw 12 people die when a series of monumental storms hit the mountain. I've always been fascinated by mountains, particularly those who attempt to climb in the dizzyingly high ranges like the Himalayas. To me, mountain climbing encapsulates the perseverance and lust for adventure in the human spirit. Therefore, this movie was right up my alley.

First and foremost, Everest is hands down the most visually impressive movie I've seen since Gravity. The filmmakers couldn't really go wrong in that regard though; it is the Himalayas we're talking about. Seeing it in 3D really enhanced the experience for me, and instead of using it in a gimmicky way, I like how it subtly provided a more immersive edge and depth of field to the already spectacular wide angled shots. The action sequences are also shot in such a way to maximise the visual splendor and huge scale of the environment. Shots where we are looking down upon the climbers whilst they traverse bottomless cravas's on shaky ladders really had me on the edge of my seat. Put simply, this film is a cinematographer's dream, and they really made the most of it.

I like to think that director Baltasar Kormákur stuck quite stringently to the true story of the '96 expedition. The story therefore is relatively typical of disaster movies. Everyone starts off excited and enthusiastic, there are some early squabbles and conflicts within the team, everything goes to plan until an unexpected turn takes place and the movie becomes about survival and the lives of the families back home in comfort are thrown into turmoil. Of course, I'm sure this is how the original series of events panned out, and so I can't critisise it for being predictable or inaccurate. But what I would say is that the effectiveness of a film like this relies quite heavily on the strength of the characters and acting, due to an already predetermined story. I liked the characters in Everest, but they didn’t blow my socks off either.

The acting was really hit or miss for me. The two central characters, Jason Clarke as Rob Hall and Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer, were both pretty good. I felt the comradery and mutual respect between them as expedition leaders, but at the same time it didn't feel like either of them were really being tested emotionally. Gyllenhaal is one of my favourite actors working today, and I would have liked to have seen more screen time balance in the script between him and Jason Clarke's character. Emily Watson was the standout performance in my eyes, playing Helen, the main point of contact between the teams on the mountain and base camp. She added much to the emotional core of the movie, passing on messages and news to the families back home and also helping co-ordinate the ascent. Her sense of helplessness was both heartbreaking and endearing. As for the rest of the cast of mountaineers, I just felt like their backstories and various personalities were not sufficiently clear and rooted in the main story, and consequently I didn’t feel very emotionally invested in them. The film did focus on the team dynamic to a certain degree, but I think the emotionally charged moments when they’re on the brink of death would have been that much more powerful if the lesser characters had been developed and examined more closely earlier in the movie. That’s not to say Everest was not emotional, I shed a few tears at least 3 times throughout the film. The most emotional I got was actually when the climbers reached the summit. I fully felt the relief, satisfaction and primal release of joy that they would have felt conquering one of the greatest physical challenges the world has to offer.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and rewarding movie. Beyond that I feel it was a necessary story to tell, as after all this was the deadliest day in Mount Everest’s history until a couple of years ago. It serves as a fitting homage to the heroes of that expedition, as well as being a thrilling and emotional experience for moviegoers. I only wish the acting could have been on the same level as the cinematography, which quite honestly outshines the other aspects of the film. Ultimately I believe that a movie should primarily be judged on the merit of its characters and how they dictate the direction of the story. With Everest however, the director had to do justice to the true version of events using suitable actors, and I think he did a pretty good job with achieving that. I think that the most admirable thing about Everest is that I can see it being accessible to anybody. It is far removed from being a film about mountaineering, instead tackling themes of adventure, perseverance, sacrifice, friendship and love, and for that I must applaud it.

Acting: 65
Narrative: 75
Visuals: 95
Music: 60

Overall: 74/100