TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
'Everest': Star-studded adventure with vertiginous thrills
Courtesy of Universal PicturesHollywood stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley team up in Everest, a dramatization of one of the worst tragedies at the worldâs highest peak
Change Size
Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Hollywood stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke and Keira Knightley team up in Everest, a dramatization of one of the worst tragedies at the world's highest peak. But the main star here is the magnificence and unforgiving nature of the colossal mountain.
On May 10-11, 1996, eight climbers trying to scale Mount Everest perished in a blizzard. Everest captures the journey of the ill-fated climbers of two commercial expeditions trekking the mountain's south face and excludes three other Indian climbers who died on the north face.
The early 1990s saw the birth of commercial expeditions, where professional climbers give assistance to less-experienced ones to scale the world's largest mountain. One of the business pioneers was Rob Hall (Jason Clarke), a New Zealand mountaineer who lends his expertise under the flag of Adventure Consultants.
In the film, we see Hall bidding farewell to his wife and constant mountaineering companion Jan (Keira Knightley), who must stay at home on account of her pregnancy. As he lands in Kathmandu, he briefs his eight clients, who include Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin), a Texas pathologist who shows great confidence in his ability to tame the mountain, and Doug Hansen (John Hawkes); a modest mailman on his second attempt to summit.
There is also Yasuko Namba (Naoko Mori), a Japanese woman who has six of the Seven Summits under her belt and Jon Krakauer (Michael Kelly), a journalist from Outside magazine.
The crowded climbing paths and limited gear force Hall to team up with a competing expedition company, Mountain Madness, led by the free-spirited Scott Fischer (Jake Gyllenhaal).
The climbers are well-informed about the great risks they are about to face. Before 1996, one in four climbers had died making the ascent.
At the south base camp (5,363 meters above sea level), Adventure Consultants coordinator Helen Wilton (Emily Watson) warns them of the possible physical breakdowns they might suffer in their goal to reach the highest peak of 8,848 meters.
The 'death zone' starts from above 7,999 meters, where oxygen is so scarce that the human body shuts down vital organ systems. They must quickly make it to the summit and stride out of the death zone, lest they succumb to frosty temperatures and thin oxygen levels.
If climbing the mountain poses them with enormous hardships and incalculable risks, why do the climbers keep trekking it? In a discussion at the camp, the stories behind their ambitions are unfolded.
For Namba, clearly it is about unlocking the achievement of wrapping up the Seven Summit. From Hansen, we get a more touching story of him taking several jobs to pay for his second expedition and of how he told his Everest dream to his child's school friends, who eventually raised some money for him.
Hansen wants to show the children that an ordinary man like him can achieve a near-impossible feat.
Later on, we will see the immense persistence ' or stubbornness ' of Hansen as he tries to finish his mission despite his poor condition.
But Hansen is not alone. Along the way, Hall and Fischer persuade some of the expedition members to go back to the base. Predictably, some of them refuse to give up on their dreams and instead push their bodies to the limit.
The film shifts from drama to action as the expedition teams ascend and face technical issues.
The guides and Sherpas embedded with the expedition teams are struggling to install the fixed ropes on time and maintain the supply of oxygen tanks.
Fischer goes back and forth taking ill climbers to the base, resulting in him suffering from exhaustion. Weathers is stricken by an extreme case of snow blindness as he makes his ascent for the summit.
Hall, who has reached the peak with Namba and other climbers, puts himself at risk by taking another hike back to the top to accompany Hansen.
Then the storm rages unabated, trapping the desperate climbers and thwarting of rescue attempts.
Scriptwriters William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy managed to balance drama and action in the movie. Two-time Oscar nominee Nicholson and Oscar winner Beaufoy, have Gladiator and Slumdog Millionaire, respectively, under their belts.
For some, the narrative may seem predictable. But, the scriptwriters can be excused for that as they face limitations in writing about real-life tragedy and individuals.
The film poster does not mention the specific literature that inspires the movie. But, its production notes confirm that the filmmaker takes reference from the books written by two 1996 Everest survivors, Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Weathers' Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest and also the transcript of the final satellite phone conversation between Rob Hall and his wife.
The final moments feature some touching scenes of the last satellite phone call between Hall and his wife and a sun-dappled hallucination of Weather as he lies hopelessly on the snow besides deceased climbers.
The cast beautifully captures the characters' emotions. Knightley did a terrific job as a distressed wife, who is mostly seen taking a nap and having a satellite phone conversation.
Everest, however, only explores the conflicts faced by Hall and Weathers and, somewhat, provides weak characterization to the others.
Director Baltasar Kormákur (2 Guns, Contraband) seems to pay more attention to capturing the verisimilitude of Everest trekking.
The action-adventure was shot at high elevation on the trek to Everest in Nepal, in the Italian Alps and at Cinecittà Studios in Rome and Pinewood Studios in the UK.
The cast and crew received guidance from one of the film's co-producers, David Breashears. When the 1996 tragedy unfolded, he was on the mountain co-directing and co-producing what would become the 1998 IMAX film of the same title, Everest.
The result is scenic mountain shots, dizzying climbing scenes and some don't-look-down moments. It is all a moviegoer desires out of a movie about mountain climbers.
The impressive cast and vertiginous thrills make Everest a captivating movie despite its half-baked characterization. It is best enjoyed on 3D or IMAX screens, which will take you right on the mountain and make your adrenaline rush.
_________________________________
Everest (Universal Pictures, 121 minutes)
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
Cast: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
