The Mountain Between Us (2017)

“The Mountain Between Us” stars Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Dermot Mulroney, and Beau Bridges.  Released on October 6, 2017, the film is about a surgeon and a photojournalist who must rely on one another to survive when they wind up stranded in the wilderness together.

The film is directed by Hany Abu-Assad, who also directed films such as Paradise Now, The Courier, and The Idol.  It is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Charles Martin.  The reason why I was saving this film for last is because I wanted to make sure that my mother watched it with me.  Why?  Because she knows romance better than I do.  Plus, she likes Idris Elba.  I mean, you can’t go wrong with Idris Elba, especially when he’s in a survival film like this.  There were plenty of survival-type films that were either loved or hated by critics and audiences (mostly loved), so where does this one land in terms of its execution?  Somewhere close to the middle.

If you’re going into this film expecting a straight-up survival story, well, let’s just say that you’ll get plenty of that in the first half.  The second half transitions it into more of a survival love story about trust and how their lives are seen before and after the event.  If you read the book, then you’ll know what I’m talking about.  If not, then oops, spoiler alert!  In terms of Abu-Assad’s direction, the first half was pretty engaging and the cinematography was well-handled for its snowy sceneries and the plane crash sequence.  Not to mention the chemistry between Elba and Winslet was simply captivating from start to finish.  When the second half starts, however, the film started to struggle a little bit due to its usual romance elements and its troublesome emotional depth, but it didn’t bring the film down that much for me.  Although, I would say that people who aren’t into the romance genre, like myself, might not be able to care that much about the romance between the two main characters.  The film’s running time wasn’t that much of an issue as it clocks in at around an hour and 50 minutes, but its third act did feel like it was a bit overlong.

Overall, “The Mountain Between Us” may leave non-romance followers with cold feet, but its engaging leads and gorgeous sceneries are enough to brace through the harsh wintery flaws.  It’s a decent watch for what it is, even though it doesn’t reach the same levels as Cast Away or 127 Hours.  As for my mother, she happens to like it more than I did because, again, she knows a lot more about romance films than I do.  If you’re in a mood for a good love story, I would say that this one is for you.

B-