Suilven on film
New British feature film Edie proves age is no barrier when it comes to climbing mountains.
Growing old is often stereotyped, in society and on the big screen, by becoming lonely and helpless and disconnecting from the modern world. And, too, that one’s twilight years should be approached with fear and diminished vitality.
Well, in Edie, director Simon Hunter tackles such ageism head on, with veteran British actor Sheila Hancock his spearhead in the anchoring role. The film tells the story of gruff octogenarian Edie, who, in the wake of her domineering husband’s death, embarks on an adventure of a lifetime – to climb the mighty Suilven and fulfil a long-held ambition in doing so. Brandishing a fresh lease of life, Edie resists her daughter’s attempts to place her in a care home and instead packs her bags, heads to Euston railway station and departs on the next train bound for the Highlands.
Free from the shackles of a loveless marriage, this journey represents Edie’s path to self- discovery, or rather – given her youth was spent as a self- confessed ‘wild child’– rediscovery. Upon reaching Inverness, she soon befriends a young camping shop worker, Jonny, who agrees to be Edie’s mountain guide on her multi- day trek towards Suilven. The pair wild camp, route plot and zigzaggedly row across a loch together as they become unlikely companions; eventually confiding the tribulations of their private lives in each other. It transpires Jonny feels restrained in life and that Edie is helping him as much as he’s aiding her.
Glorious drone-shot panoramas of Suilven’s distinctive craggy outline and the melt-in-the-mouth Lochinver landscapes are a joyous feature of Hunter’s direction that compel you to immediately add Suilven to your tick list – while Debbie Wiseman’s moving orchestral score further enhance the aesthetics.
As the credits rolled up, for me the film had perhaps lacked a little finesse in the storyline, but Edie is a warm and inspiring tale that tackles social stereotypes and shows it’s never too late to chase adventure.