Review of Free Solo (2018) by Brann G — 06 Jan 2019

This is one of my favorite movies of 2018. It cuts on so many levels and layers, most of them provided by Alex himself and captured tremendously well by the filmmakers. Alex's journey in working toward's free-soloing El Cap is the main story, but there are others that are intertwined.

The movie paints an entertaining portrait of Alex as a person, his emotional and psychological life, his upbringing, his humor, his motivations, his incredible gifts, his experience with past female relationships and the current one that develops along with the events of the movie.

The reconciliation of an increasing emotional attachment to his girlfriend--emotional attachment something that he has consistently avoided his whole life--precisely as he prepares to do one of the most fantastic and dangerous human feats ever documented.

The internal conflict of Alex's friends, including the filmmakers, as they play a central role in helping Alex attempt something that could foreseeably cause his death. From a technical perspective, the incredible feat of even capturing the footage, and doing so in a way that balances the distraction and invasiveness to Alex, while also getting the shots that do the feat justice.

You know that Alex doesn't die, but this movie is nail biting for most of it's run time. It's nicely balanced with some laugh out loud humor, and a peppering of genuinely tender and moving moments.