‘The Mountain Between Us’ strands Elba and Winslet
Kate Winslet and Idris Elba are two of the best actors working today.
So what on earth are they doing in “The Mountain Between Us?”
It’s a sappy, sometimes silly, survival story. But it doesn’t stop there. Director Hany Abu-Assad, working from a script by J. Mills Goodloe based on Charles Martin’s novel, tosses in some tone-deaf romance, as well. You’d think with these two actors maybe we’d get a kind of topshelf romantic adventure.
Ben (Elba) and Alex (Winslet) are in an airport in Idaho. Both need to catch a flight to Denver. He’s a neurosurgeon with an urgent case awaiting his arrival.
She is a photographer who is getting married tomorrow. (I’ve been to a lot of weddings. If one thing is certain, it’s that brides don’t show up the day before.)
But a snowstorm is approaching, so there aren’t any flights out. They don’t know each other, but Alex and Ben decide to charter a private plane. They show up in a hangar to find Walter (Beau Bridges), a folksy Vietnam veteran pilot, who assures them the weather is no problem. So Walter and his yellow Lab join Alex and Ben in his small plane.
They fly a while. Minutes after Walter boasts that as long as no one’s firing at him he’ll be fine, the plane crashes.
On top of a snowy Rocky Mountain range.
With no flight plan filed.
Oh, and neither Alex nor Ben told anyone what they were doing or where they were going.
There is some good news, though: the dog survived.
So they are stranded in about the worst way possible. Ben is a rational thinker who likes structure and planning. Alex likes to wing it.
The dog seems fine either way. Ben wants to stay put. Alex wants to set out, to hike somewhere, to do something.
Again, the dog isn’t picky. There’s a run-in with a mountain lion and a lot of snow and no cellphone service. There is some argument and some making up, along with exchanges like this:
Free-spirited Alex: “But doctor, what about the heart?”
Brain surgeon Ben: “The heart is just a muscle.”
Gee, I wonder if he’ll come around on that?
OK, obviously this movie has some problems. Among them is that it makes the painful transition from boring survival movie to ridiculous romance. Granted, if you’re stranded in a snowy mountain range for weeks with somebody, one thing may lead to another and…
Oh, yes, that’s right — weeks. At one point someone notes that they’ve been stranded for weeks. On one hand it’s surprising because it doesn’t seem like they’ve been out there that long; they certainly look fresh and vigorous most of the time. On the other hand it’s not surprising because at that point the movie already seems like it’s dragged on for a month.
Typically actors like Winslet and Elba can elevate even the most-pedestrian material, but making this story better would require a feat of superhuman strength.
Ever wondered whether any actor is so great that you’d watch them in anything, no matter how lame? Sadly, with “The Mountain Between Us,” you get your answer.