By Anna Husted EBS FILM CRITIC
“Free Solo” was one of my least favorite films of 2018. Exposing
the same hubris of Timothy Treadwell in “Grizzly Man,” but without the storytelling
prowess of Wim Wenders, “Free Solo” struck me as a documentary that promotes
foolish endeavors.
I spent most of the film annoyed with Alex and his
girlfriend, Sanni McCandless, which is a name that harkens back to another
great fool of the outdoors, Chris McCandless (“Into the Wild”). These two characters
are completely incompatible and seem to know it, but also appear to dial up
that incompatibility for the cameras. We follow them through the in’s and out’s
of a major life decision—when is the right time for Alex to climb Yosemite’s El
Capitan face without any ropes?
Those of us who have chosen the mountain lifestyle are
belittled in “Free Solo” by what the world seems to be impressed by: An
egomaniac with a death wish. It is not a matter of if Alex will die while free soloing,
but when. And we are supposed to be impressed by this mountain lifestyle above
our own because no one has ever done this climb without ropes before? I am
appalled at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its ignorance
of climbing and praise for such an unwise endeavor.
I spent the first half of the film waiting for the actual
climb. The buildup, which I assume was for anticipation, was boring. Were they
going to diagnose Alex with Asperger’s or some other disability? The rendering
of that storyline never came to fruition. I suggest fast-forwarding through the
first hour of a lackluster story to watch the actual free solo climb, which was
beautifully shot. It felt like Alex could have made the climb at any point in
the movie and was pretending like he wasn’t ready for the cameras.
The first of two positive takeaways from the film is that
“Free Solo” reveals that human suffering is important. Those who do not
struggle in their everyday life will create their own, although free soloing El
Capitan is a privileged struggle. Throughout the movie I kept picturing a
“white people so crazy” meme. Some people choose their life’s greatest struggle,
which is madness. The second positive is the 360-degree video technology used
during the actual climb that provides unprecedented perspectives. Filmmakers
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi are good at the technical aspects of
what they do even if they fall short in the storytelling.
Honnold is a fool. And I mean that in the Shakespearean
sense that his presence is to professionally entertain others. While his
athleticism is impressive, his drive for danger is unhealthy.
We have romanticized what is reckless without addressing its
imprudence directly. We are commending something that should be admonished by
society because of a complete lack of backcountry safety. We are privileged to
be exposed to the mountains and immerse ourselves in nature. But in the end, we
must remember, Mother Nature always wins.
“Free Solo” is now playing on the National Geographic
Channel and streaming on Hulu.
Anna Husted has a
master’s in film studies from New York University. In Big Sky she can be found up
on the hill or at the movies at Lone Peak Cinema. When not gazing at the silver
screen or watching her new favorite TV show, she’s skiing, fishing or
roughhousing with her cat, Indiana Jones.
