The Mountain Between Us Review – Spoiler Free
The Mountain Between Us is a film which comes directed by Hany Abu-Assad and stars Idris Elba and Kate Winslet. The film is a mixture of action, romance and adventure. It follows the story of Ben (Idris Elba) and Alex (Kate Winslet) who after a plane crash get stranded on a snowy mountain in the middle of nowhere. With no help coming, it’s a struggle to survive. Will they ever get back home?
Going into this film, I knew sort of what to expect from this love story adventure. From watching the trailer, it seems like more of an action film than it is, although it does have some dramatic moments. Really, this is about two characters coming together for warmth in a very cold environment. The plot is quite good though and is better than I would have thought it to be. It was nice to get to know Ben who is super kind and also Alex as well. By the end of the film, you do feel pretty attached to these two people. I would love to write a little here about the ending, but I don’t want to spoil things, but the tone change there was quite interesting.
Both Idris Elba and Kate Winslet do well with their characters. Apart from a scene at the beginning when Walter (Beau Bridges) crashes their plane, the whole film is essentially just Ben and Alex in the snow. Both actors do get a lot to do in this film. It’s nothing that I would say could win an award, but still decent performances are put into this.
Interestingly while looking up the film’s trivia on IMDB I see that originally the actors cast to play both Alex and Ben were Margot Robbie and Michael Fassbender. Both dropped out and were replaced by Rosamund Pike and Charlie Hunnam. Then eventually we ended up with Idris Elba and Kate Winslett. I can’t help but imagine what this film would have been like with those other two combinations.
The Mountain Between Us was filmed in Invermere, British Columbia. The scenery there is quite beautiful and the mountain landscapes and the trees all look wonderful on the big screen. This isn’t a big special effects film, but there is some realism to what was going on with the two characters. Both their lives are put at risk multiple times. There was an incident with a cougar who at one point made an appearance shortly after the crash and this was well done.
Overall this was an interesting film, it’s more of a love story drama than a survival action piece. Both Idris Elba and Kate Winslet did well with their characters and it was interesting seeing change occur in the two throughout their journey together. If you’re looking for an adventure/love story film and you want something warm to watch this weekend, then this is a decent choice at the cinema. It’s a nice movie to watch and it’s also one of the few love story films releasing this month.
