Everest (2015) - Film Review

Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley & Jake Gyllenhaal

Screenplay: William Nicholson & Simon Beaufoy

Directed By: Baltasar Kormakur

Certificate: 12
 

Before we see the release of The Revenant in a few months time, and witness Leonardo DiCaprio essentially torturing himself in the snow for an Oscar; we've first got another film to talk about that puts its characters through snowy torture: Everest. Featuring an ensemble cast of actors including Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Jake Gyllenhaal and more, Everest joins the likes of other recent and ambitious films such as The Martian in its attempt to garner some awards recognition. But is there more to this film than just its technical prowess and the big names in its cast?

 

Everest depicts the 1996 Mount Everest disaster where eight people died in a blizzard during an expedition's attempt to summit the mountain. The disaster took place at a time where Everest was becoming increasingly popular with tourists, and those who led the expeditions up and down the mountain could earn a lot of money. In May '96, two teams planned on climbing Everest, one led by Rob Hall, the other by Scott Fischer. Although both teams reached the top, coming back down proved their greatest challenge, as supplies grew increasingly scarce and a severe storm approached...
 

Like many of the best film biopics, Everest brings a true story to a wider audience that may not be entirely familiar with the events that took place. Going into the film, I know that I certainly had no prior knowledge of the 1996 Everest disaster (although to be fair, I wasn't actually alive when it happened). Oddly enough, having no prior knowledge of what happened was actually beneficial when watching. Not knowing who was going to make it back down alive only helped to increase the film's fantastic sense of tension, and when a character does die, it really hits you. Character deaths aren't built up or made into some grand moment – very realistically, it just happens – in one moment they can be there, and in the next they're gone. You don't see that very often in films nowadays, which is a shame as it can really leave an impact. Right from the start, Everest builds up that sense of tension I mentioned earlier, even before we actually get anywhere near the mountain. Early on, Rob Hall warns the expedition group of the dangers of climbing Everest, and he gives this fantastic line that gives us some idea of the risks involved: “Human beings simply aren't built to function at the cruising altitude of a 747. Once we get above here, above the South Col, our bodies will be literally dying. It's not called the Death Zone for nothing”. Then once everyone's on the mountain, there's pay-off to this build-up with some real edge-of-your-seat sequences, most notably for me being a very uneasy helicopter rescue, and an equally uneasy attempt to safely cross a ravine.

 

For all of its big-name actors, the real star of Everest is actually the mountain itself, and is brought to life through some truly incredible production design and location work. While $55 is hardly a small production budget, Everest looks as though it cost double this at least, and I can't imagine that this was an easy film to shoot. With several cast members taking up mountaineering training, and location work taking place in Italy, Iceland and Nepal, there's a real air of authenticity surrounding this film. Surprisingly, there isn't much reliance on CGI or green screen in Everest, and not once did I pick up on any transitions or switches between location and studio work. Filming on potentially risky mountain terrain, you may imagine that there are some pretty strict limitations on the director and the camerawork, but it never feels like it. The direction is stunning, and there were a number of shots where I was left wondering just how the crew managed them. Later in the film, there's also some practical make-up effects to be found, especially as frostbite starts to become a problem, and it again looks very genuine and gruesome.

 

However, while Everest appears to take plenty of risks in its production, narratively it feels quite the opposite, and it instead plays it a little safe. There wasn't a great deal story-wise that surprised me, and it never really ended up going in any directions I wasn't expecting. It felt a little too traditional in its storytelling, and I only ended up feeling suspense about WHO was going to die, and not WHETHER anyone was going to die. I also felt that the first act missed an opportunity to really explain the motivations these characters have for climbing Everest in the first place. Particularly for someone like me, a complete coward who would never go anywhere near climbing Everest, it would've been nice to get a bit more insight into everyone else's motivation for it. Yes I understand the thrill and the appeal in pushing the limits of what is humanly possible, but surely these characters, who have lives and families, have a more personal reason for climbing the highest peak on Earth beyond just saying “Because it's there!”.

 

Full credit has to go to the cast however, who all gives performances capable of evoking genuine sympathy, despite the limits of their characterization. Having an ensemble cast with so many characters works both ways for the film. On the one hand, following so many people on their climb does give a good idea as to just how much interest there was in scaling Everest at the time. But on the other hand, it also limits time for character development, and any standout character moments are more the result of the performance rather than the script. Still, Jason Clarke does a great job in the lead as Rob Hall, making him into someone who comes across as very friendly and approachable. (Spoiler Warning!) Also, his final scene calling his wife honestly had me welling up, and both Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley do an incredible job selling the emotion of the scene. In fact, every one of the cast do a great job at humanizing their characters – another memorable performance coming from Josh Brolin as Beck Weathers. There were even a couple of surprise names in the cast who I hadn't seen much of for a while, such as Sam Worthington and even Naoko Mori, who I haven't seen since Torchwood.

 

Everest really is a mix of action, biopic, adventure and more, but ultimately I'd probably best describe it as a disaster film. Just as biopics can educate and raise awareness of real-life events, which Everest definitely pulls off, some of the best disaster films give us food for thought once the credits have rolled. With Everest, the question that lingered afterwards for me was whether or not you could argue the disaster it depicts was the result of hubris. Similar to how the sinking of the Titanic was the result of hubris, can we take away the same lesson from Everest? Pushing too far or trying to achieve something we're just not yet ready for – we may look to push the boundaries of what we're capable of, but Everest reminds us that to avoid disaster, we still have to tread carefully.

 

Overall, Everest has really surpassed a lot of my expectations. Considering its modest budget and the fact that director Baltasar Kormakur hasn't really directed anything as technically demanding as Everest before, this was a very good film. With a whole host of very natural, human performances that are mostly able to disguise the lack of character development, a strong feeling of tension and unease, and some of the best production values of the year, Everest honestly deserves a lot more love and audience attention than it's already received. It's an intense cinematic experience, and one I highly recommend.

 



Everest

 

8/10