Review: Everest

A drama centring around a 1996 expedition to climb Mt. Everest, led by Kiwi and expectant father Rob (Aussie actor Jason Clarke). Those on the climb include rich Texan Beck (Josh Brolin), author Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly), Japanese climber Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori) hoping to climb the last of the seven summits, and meek postman Doug Hansen (John Hawkes), who failed on a previous attempt and is absolutely determined to make it this time. Also hanging around is super-chill American Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is leading a rival expedition. Emily Watson plays the maternal base camp co-coordinator alongside Elizabeth Debicki, whilst Sam Worthington plays another Kiwi climbing expert on the ground, and New Zealand-born Martin Henderson is one of the mountaineering guides on the expedition. Keira Knightley and Robin Wright play the respective spouses of Rob and Beck.

 

Look, not every movie needs to reinvent the wheel. What’s wrong with an irresistible story well-told? This 2015 film from director Baltasar Kormakur (“Contraband”, “2 Guns”) might have its fair share of clichés, but being based on true events it’s hard to really carp about that. Scripted by William Nicholson (“Gladiator”, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”) and Simon Beaufoy (“Slumdog Millionaire”, “127 Hours”), this is a classic mountain climbing/disaster movie done really damn solidly. Reviews have been lukewarm, but I actually found myself quite moved by it, and on more than one occasion. It’s called persuasiveness.

 

The cast of A- (or B+ if you want to be more churlish than I) actors from all across the globe is rock-solid, but more in the sense of an ensemble doing fine character work rather than there being too many individual standouts or showy theatrics. I was probably most moved by John Hawkes’ touching character, and felt Robin Wright and our own Sam Worthington were completely underused, but other than that, everyone was pretty much on an even keel of solidity here. In fact, the thing that impressed me most about the film from an acting standpoint was the Kiwi accents by Brit actresses Keira Knightley (who does a commendable job of it), and especially a flawless one from Emily Watson (It might be a bit thick and broad for some, but it’s definitely a Kiwi accent, that’s for sure). Given how difficult Aussie accents seem to be for non-Aussies to perfect let alone Kiwi accents, I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised with Watson’s effort in particular. Seemingly ubiquitous Aussie actress Elizabeth Debicki would also be hard to pick as a non-Kiwi too, if you were unfamiliar with her I would think. Less so Worthington and fellow Aussie actor Jason Clarke, who don’t even bother to change their natural Aussie accents one bit (in Worthington’s case, this is a good decision. Accents definitely aren’t his thing).

 

The scenery is predictably amazing, and I can imagine the biggest screen possible would be the optimal choice for seeing this. However, the story itself is still so irresistible that it will work no matter what screen you’re watching it on. Sure, it’s a little on the slow side, but you don’t mind that so much because you’re in good company, even if there’s perhaps not enough time to really get to know everyone here. Although Jason Clarke is sturdy in what is essentially the lead role and everyone as I said earlier is rock-solid, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Emily Watson, and Jake Gyllenhaal are probably afforded the most opportunity to make an impression. I was surprised that some people felt they couldn’t relate to the characters here. I personally loathed “Into the Wild” (whose author, Jon Krakauer, is a character here, and he really, really hates this movie apparently…possibly because his own book was not among the sources used) because I felt like it was a movie about a reckless idiot who pretty much deserved his fate for being arrogant and careless. This situation is different. I may not understand the desire to do something so potentially dangerous as mountain climbing, but professionals are involved, and although mistakes get made, it’s not out of arrogance or really carelessness. I actually felt like the film was a great example of just how important likeable characters can be for a movie. I cared, especially about John Hawkes’ postman Doug, who had me close to tears, I won’t deny. They’re a pretty nice bunch of people, and like the fellow trekkers in the Reese Witherspoon movie “Wild”, they have kind of a community spirit to them, they’re supportive of one another.

 

The film becomes really quite harrowing in its second half, showing that going up is far less complicated sometimes than going down. Perhaps not a Top 10 contender, but nonetheless a really solid, sometimes harrowing and affecting film. A classic story well-told. You can’t ask for much more than that.

 

Rating: B-