Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2380. Free Solo (2018)

    2380. Free Solo (2018)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on December 11, 2018 100-109 mins, 2018, 8 - 10, Dec 18, Documentary, Movies Of 2018, Review, United States
    8.3 Absolutely spectacular
    • Directing 8.3
    • Content 8.3
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Alex Honnold, Sanni McCandless, Tommy Caldwell

    Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

    Running Time: 100 mins


    Free Solo is an American documentary about Alex Honnold, a professional climber who attempts ‘free solo’ climbs – rock climbing without a rope – and the story of his ambition to scale the indomitable cliff face of El Capitán at Yosemite, without a rope.

    This is an absolutely spectacular film. Reminiscent of the likes of the award-winning Man On Wire and the astonishing Grizzly Man, Free Solo is a human interest documentary with such power and cinematic spectacle throughout, furthered by a dynamic and layered portrayal of an incredible physical feat that makes for an utterly enthralling watch throughout.

    There’s a whole lot to talk about with Free Solo, both in its subject matter as well as its technical achievements, which are some of the greatest I’ve ever seen in documentary filmmaking, but we’ll quickly start with the basics, the story of Alex Honnold and his journey to taking on the most arduous free climb ever attempted.

    In short, it’s a stunning story that’s presented absolutely brilliantly. Lending due focus to the technicality and complexities of climbing in a way that’s both accessible and absolutely fascinating for novices, as well as giving an emotionally moving account of Honnold’s inner psyche as he prepares for the climb of his life, the film really engrosses you in the events and people involved in a way that’s really rare to experience, giving you the same stunningly breathless and exhilarating experience as the main subject himself.

    Having said that, the only negative with the story’s presentation would be the fact that there are a few moments over the course of the film’s first two acts where it does, at least structurally speaking, feel like a more run-of-the-mill National Geographic documentary, perhaps not taking the narrative leaps that other top-quality documentaries have in the past.

    In any regard, however, there’s no doubt that Free Solo is a stunning documentary, and it gets every single one of the fundamental components of a great documentary absolutely perfect. However, not content with just showing a thrilling and enthralling story, Free Solo goes further, and alongside the stunning nature of the subject at its centre, its greatest achievement is how it goes behind the camera, and lets you into everything that went into preparing the climb, and how the film itself was made.

    It’s a bold and unorthodox move for a film to effectively document its own process while it’s still happening, but directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin do an exceptional job at bringing it in when appropriate, meaning it actually adds to the central story more than it ever detracts from it.

    On the one hand, there’s the element that focuses on the technical aspect of how the camera crew were able to film such stunning footage while hanging off the edge of a 3000ft cliff, and as well as simply marvelling at the film’s gorgeous and vertigo-inducing cinematography throughout, you’re also given an enthralling insight into how all of the production was planned around the climb itself, and just how much of a difficult task it was to pull off as well.

    On the other hand, though, you have an unexpected but stunning emotional impact that comes from the film’s focus behind the camera. Particularly towards the final act, the film moves away from working as a typical narrative documentary – i.e. telling the story about the man who climbed El Capitán – and bringing in a wider context that adds a whole lot more gravitas to what you’re seeing on screen.

    In that, there’s an astonishing theme that focuses on the role of the camera crew in potentially affecting Honnold’s climb in a negative way, whether it be a distraction on the day itself, or a build up of pressure that would not be there if he was entirely alone. However, as much as the film gives due focus to Honnold’s inner thoughts and emotions, it also brings everything that’s happening on screen into an incredibly real, emotional context, and focuses on what the production crew would do if something were to go wrong, and what their potential role in causing such an outcome would be.

    It’s difficult to explain clearly, given that it holds such emotional weight throughout, but the short of it is that by going behind the camera and widening the story’s scope beyond something a lot more basic, it allows you to relate and sympathise with everything that’s happening on screen a hundred times better, and that’s something I can’t say I’ve ever seen pulled off quite so spectacularly as this film.

    Overall, I was blown away by Free Solo. Although you may not expect it at first, it’s a film with such stunning depth and intrigue from beginning to end, furthered by dynamic and emotional filmmaking that turns a riveting human interest story into something incredibly powerful, while its exceptional cinematography and gorgeous visuals top it all off in spectacular fashion, which is why I’m giving it an 8.3.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.9
    Review
    July 21, 20170

    1831. Dunkirk (2017)

    8.5
    Review
    January 5, 20150

    807. The Theory Of Everything (2014)

    8.0
    Review
    January 19, 20150

    824. Selma (2014)

    8.2
    Review
    May 30, 20220

    3754. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

    8.0
    Review
    October 5, 20140

    710. Paths Of Glory (1957)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.