Family-driven survival tale strikes critical balance

Humour and drama fill adventure film about two estranged brothers

Mountain Men tells the story of two estranged brothers — both barely coping with adulthood — who are reunited in their small hometown for the mother’s wedding.

Toph (Tyler Labine) is a weeddealing out-of-work DJ who never left home. Cooper (Chace Crawford) is a seriously aloof, handsome professional who eschewed his roots to start a fancy life in New York City.

The film, set in the thawing mountain town of Revelstoke, B.C., starts out as a lighthearted dramedy but soon turns into a full-on survival thriller when the brothers set out — reluctantly so on Cooper’s part — on a bonding excursion beginning at their deceased dad’s cabin in the woods.

At the heart of the film, is the brothers’ desire to come to grips with their father’s death, particularly for Cooper, who still feels a twinge of guilt for staying away when his dad was having a psychological breakdown.

Mountain Men is written and directed by Cameron Labine. It’s his second feature film, and a vast improvement over his 2008 flop Control Alt Delete, which also starred his brother Tyler (both grew up just outside of Toronto).

The casting, whether motivated by nepotism or not, is spot on. Tyler Labine is convincing as an oafy yet likable big brother who dishes out non-stop one-liners like your funniest, albeit mildly obnoxious, friend. And Crawford proves to be more than just a pretty face as the straight man whose life is less together than he lets on.

At a glance, Cameron Labine’s plot has all the markings of an adventure comedy cliché: polar opposite brothers embark on a weekend of bonding when their plan goes off the rails and they barely escape death at every turn.

And while that’s certainly how the plot goes, it’s not played for sentimental moments or cheap laughs.

There’s nothing cheesy or slapstick about it.

When Toph and Cooper get in trouble in the bush, the frustration, the suspense, the victories and the comic relief are real yet subtle.

At the same time, it evades the vague cutesiness that too often overwhelms the indie film circuit. Certainly, the expertly scripted dialogue carries the film, but it tells a compelling story with clear development and a resolution.

In Mountain Men, Cameron Labine and his cast achieve a hard-to-strike balance of comedy and heartfelt drama while maintaining a subtleness that respects your adult attention span.

The product is a believable and entertaining tale of self-discovery that’s well worth a watch.