A High Peak of Cinema

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2015)

"Everest" (2015), directed by Baltasar Kormákur who has been known only for generic action films like "Contraband" (2012) and "2 Guns" (2013). Yet here he makes a beautifully-executed film which never takes a misstep, capturing both the awe and terrific danger of Mount Everest. The film sets out to examine the disparate group of people who are willing to pay $65,000 and risk all by trying to reach the summit, which we're solemnly informed by Rob Hall, is at the altitude of a cruising Boeing 747.
Kormákur's strength as a director, allows the actors to imbue their real characters with a sense of naturalism, from the mailman Doug Hansen (John Hawkes) to the Texan bravado of Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin). The script, by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy, takes an ensemble approach to its narrative, a mosaic of climbers from which emerges a community with underlying tensions between experienced mountaineers and "tourists" paying to get to Everest's peak. Poor decisions made at over 29,000 feet can be fatal, especially when compounded by the fierce intensity of the Himalyan weather.
Kormákur actually shot at the Everest base camp and filmed climbing scenes in the Italian Alps, giving the film a powerful realism; watching it, you feel the sub-zero temperatures and the vertiginous heights. He's also adept at building tension, particularly in showing climbers crossing a ladder at Everest's Kumbu Ice Fall, where just from the sound alone, we wince at every step taken. It's an extraordinary tense film, especially as, being based on real events, we know some will not survive. Yet Kormákur refuses to sentimentalise the drama, lending a dignity to the ill-fated characters: death is not over-dramatised, instead the fragility of life on the mountain is emphasised. He's aided immeasurably by an excellent cast: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Hawkes, Josh Brolin and Emily Watson. If there's a criticism to be made, the film sometimes spreads itself too thinly, and actors like Sam Worthington and Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson are relegated to the background.
The clarity of Salvatore Totino's cinematography enables us to appreciate the savage beauty of the mountains while the editing of Mick Audsley admirably clarifies a complex story, cross-cutting between base camp and the different groups fighting their way back down through a horrific storm. It's a dramatic survival film, rooted in humanity enduring the extremes of nature, but it never looses sight of the individual. It's the rare Hollywood film which believes in character and employs special effects in the service of the story, to create an entirely satisfying piece of cinema.