I love a good disaster movie, and I absolutely loath a bad one so Baltasar Kormákur's Everest had a lot riding on it for me. Based on the events surrounding the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, the film's stellar cast, chilling story and international production promises a unique and visceral experience. As with all biographical films, if you don't know the story, don't read up on it before going in. Needless to say though, people are gonna die.
Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is a professional mountaineer whose business, Adventure Consultants aims to get people to the summit of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, and back down again as safely as possible. It's the start of the 1996 season and Hall is leading an expedition of eight clients, including Texan doctor Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), journalist Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly) who's documenting the trip, and Doug Hansen (John Hawkes) a mailman who is on his second attempt to climb the mountain. Hall says goodbye to his pregnant wife Jan (Keira Knightley) and the expedition gets underway.
At base camp they meet up with Helen Wilton (Emily Watson) who is managing the Adventure Consultants' tent, and Caroline Mackenzie (Alicia Vikander), the expeditions doctor. Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal) is running another expedition and is technically a business rival of Hall's. However, since they both aim to summit on May 10, the two decide to team up the expeditions and work together to reach the summit. However, a string of delays and encroaching bad weather ensure that the expedition ends in disaster.
Everest's rocky beginning hints at a relationship-focused but cliche-driven plot. Conversely, its subtle ending is the perfect close to a relentless, spine-chilling, brilliant film. Full disclosure: I saw this one in 3D, which I'm normally not a big proponent for. Its often either too distracting or not effective. However, here it captures the immense scale of the deadly mountain, the depth of the black crevasses, the ant-sized humans tackling an impossible task. The mountain is the star of this movie, it "has the final word", it's the ultimate antagonist. Full credit to DoP Salvatore Totino (Frost/Nixon) and the effects teams on this film for capturing the sheer beauty of such a deadly place. Each sequence is gripping and utterly realistic. At no point could I not suspend my disbelief. The true success of this film is its focus on spectacle, its ability to create an atmosphere and put the audience right in the action.
Everest divides its time between the seemingly successful training/ascent and the tragic descent. All the while developing its ensemble of characters as we watch on hopelessly. The minutiae of the ascent, little things that ultimately see the characters set up to fail, are presented in an almost documentary-like style. No blame is laid, no message pressed about the fragility of human ambition. Kormákur simply presents the events as they unfolded and we're taken along for one hell of a ride. It's amazing how littered with A-list actors this film is, many of whom get very little screen time. Strong character development is sadly limited to a couple of the key roles, and at times - especially when they're into the 'death zone' and totally rugged up - it's difficult to work out who's who and what their individual slice of the story arc is.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives a small but lively performance, and Brolin is well-rounded as Beck. Hawkes's Doug Hansen is one of the more interesting and fleshed-out characters, an amateur climber with a quiet persona and a lot of heart. The absolute standout though has to be Jason Clarke in the lead. Clarke has always had a lot of misses for me, especially in his Hollywood roles, but returning to his native tongue (well, New Zealand is close enough to Australia) has certainly paid off, because this is his best performance to date. He portrays Hall as a gentle, kind-hearted man who puts the safety and concern of his clients above all else. He's so good that all you really want towards the end is for him to survive.
The women however, are left with generally unfulfilling roles. Emily Watson is fantastic as usual, and you really feel for her as she tries to manage the disaster from the base camp, however most of her screen-time she's left trying to communicate to people through a radio. Alicia Vikander does what she can as the expedition's doctor but she too is unable to do much from the base camp. Robin Wright has an unbelievably small role as Beck's wife, similar to Keira Knightley, who can't pull off the greatest of New Zealand accents but is responsible for one half of the film's most heartbreaking conversation toward the end, so she should still get some credit.
Whilst there are some great portrayals from a stellar cast in Everest, and I think a lot of reviewers are downplaying the character development, this is still a film that's driven by spectacle. Its slightly emotionally-detracted style avoids cliche whilst still doing justice to a thrilling story that captures the essence of the human condition and transports you to the frosty Himalayas. Everest leaves you with both the desire to endeavor to climb it and at the same time, the tragic gut-necessity to stay as far away as possible.
