A passion project 15 years in the making for producer Tim Bevan, the NZ-born founder of Working Title Films, Everest is finally ready for an audience.
This is the true story of the 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest, where a group of climbers became trapped by an almighty blizzard. Only some of them would walk out alive, one of them only barely.
Three of the most experienced mountaineers among them - their guides - would not. One was American Scott Fischer, one was Kiwi Andy 'Harold' Harris, the other fellow Kiwi Rob Hall.
These shocking events played out over several days, the entire world hearing about the final phone calls Rob Hall would make to his heavily pregnant wife Jan back home in New Zealand, as he faced his own certain death.
Their story forms the emotional heart of this film, augmented by the stories of the other climbers and support crew at Everest base camp during that doomed season.
The cast is a true ensemble of proven, talented performers, the casting just one of many things these filmmakers did right. Australian actor Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Zero Dark Thirty) is Rob Hall, Keira Knightley (Atonement, Begin Again) is Jan Arnold.
Forming the troupe of amateur climbers who signed on with Hall to summit Everest that season is Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Milk) who plays Texan Beck Weathers, John Hawkes (Winter's Bone, Martha Marcy May Marlene) is the mailman Doug Hansen, making his second attempt to summit.
Michael Kelly (House of Cards, The Adjustment Bureau) plays journalist Jon Krakauer who joins them for the attempt, and to write a piece about Hall's mountain guiding business Adventure Consultants. He would later write the bestseller Into Thin Air, one of several books written in the aftermath.
Holding the Adventure Consultants fort at Everest Base Camp is Emily Watson, who plays Kiwi Helen Wilton. Watson's assured vulnerable performance a cornerstone of the narrative.
The other company guiding climbers up the mountain that year was Mountain Madness, formed by American climber Scott Fischer. Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain) seems just as happy in the support crew for this story despite his growing leading man status, and brings an impressive beard to proceedings.
Icelandic filmmaker BaltasarKormákur (Contraband, 2 Guns) was determined to deliver as much authenticity to this true story as possible, subjecting his cast and crew to two challenging location shoots; one near Everest, the other high up in the Italian Alps. On a purely cinematic level that commitment shows, and along with the impressive cinematography experienced on IMAX in 3D especially, you will feel like you are there on that mountain yourself.
The tension here is gently woven in from the early stages, the audience lulled into a very false sense of security before the power of nature, and the supreme power of Everest, sweeps in. When it does, I found myself becoming increasingly breathless, the sense of dread, helplessness, powerlessness even, all encompassing.
Letting the story speak for itself, the epic grandeur and spectacle of the setting offset by the restraint in the delivery, makes Everest one of the best man-versus-nature films I've ever seen.
Deeply engrossing and ultimately deeply moving, even those of us - particularly New Zealand audiences - who feel we know these events well, will not be immune to the depth of the emotion this film evokes.
Four-and-a-half stars.
3 News
Everest:: Director: Baltasar Kormákur:: Starring: Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright, Sam Worthington, Emily Watson, John Hawkes, Martin Henderson:: Running Time: 121 minutes:: Release Date: September 17, 2015
