EVEREST REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

I've been looking forward to watching this ever since promotion for this film began in late August/early September. I saw advertisements about this 'dramatic' expedition up the biggest mountain on Earth - Everest. Apart from this incredible story, one thing that got interested was the cast. This film stars Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin and Jake Gyllenhaal as three of the mountain climbers hoping to reach the top of Everest. 

This is based on the true story of Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) who, sadly, died after reaching the top of Everest.

I think this film manages to tell this tragic story in a really compelling way. Because this happened in 1996, before I was born, I had no idea about this tragedy until watching this film. I didn't know if the climbers were going to reach the top and, when they did, I was unsure if they were going to be able to get down. There was tension from the beginning of the climb until the end of the film. This is a truly dramatic film, I was on the edge of my seat throughout and, at some points, I had to hide behind my hands as I couldn't bear to watch what was happening. This film is not one for the faint hearted, I'll tell you that.

Jason Clark is brilliant as the optimistic Rob Hall, the leader of the climbers. He does his best to make sure that everyone reaches the top of Everest and back down again but, despite his efforts, he and three other climbers died whilst trying to make it back down. 

Towards the end of the film, I had tears in my eyes, especially during the scene when Rob is communicating with his pregnant wife, Jan (Keira Knightley), who is trying to convince him to climb the rest of the way down. I was incredibly moved as I couldn't imagine what it must've been like for Jan. 

Overall, with a compelling story and memorable characters, this is definitely the most dramatic film of 2015.

8/10