A mountain tale of two halves Walking Out (M)
96 mins ★★★ 1⁄2
A visit to Montana doesn’t really feel like a holiday for David (Josh Wiggins).
The cold wind and snow isn’t exactly conducive to fun in the Texas teen’s eyes.
But he’s here to visit his estranged father (Matt Bomer) and bond with him in ‘‘Big Sky’’ country, even if they have different ideas on entertainment. To David’s horror, despite the freezing conditions, Dad Cal has a five-mile hike planned and a hut already picked out. ‘‘This is the year you get your first kill,’’ Cal tell his young charge. ‘‘And this isn’t like one of your asinine games – you can’t just start over.’’
However, after Cal thinks they are on the trail of a moose, he is the one left bitterly disappointed when he discovers the great beast shot 18 times and dumped in the river. Still angry when they encounter a bear cub, a succession of wrong decisions leave the pair in a perilous situation.
Based on US science, nature and travel writer David Quammen’s 1980 short story, twin British writerdirectors Alex and Andrew Smith’s (early Ryan Gosling starrer The Slaughter Rule) tale is an initially only mildly engaging two-hander that takes an engrossing turn halfway through. In an impressively smooth switching of gears, the hunters become the hunted as this disparate father and son are suddenly forced to work together to ensure their survival.
Both Bomer (Magic Mike) and Wiggins (Max) do a terrific job of making the panic and fear of an unfamiliar situation seem real, but it’s the Smiths who really make the scenario and snow-clad surroundings come alive. They produce thrills and chills in equal measure as the terrain and its inhabitants do their best to ensure a less-than-happy ending.
– James Croot