Free Solo (2018)
Anyone can be happy and cozy. Nothing good happens in the world by being happy and cozy.
THE SUMMARY: A rock climber completes the superhuman feat of ascending Yosemite’s El Capitan without a rope, as his friends and future wife worry about watching him splatter. It’s our first review of a documentary, and a worthy one. As much as I admire the physical feat, the movie’s themes and commentaries on life, family, and fear make it particularly excellent.
NO MOVIE-PICKER COMMENTARY THIS WEEK: As is tradition, Blonde’s prior documentary nominations for this fifth Sunday of the month were rejected by the vote, so Free Solo is a random selection from IMDB’s top-rated documentary list.
JAMIE AND JEANNE’S SHOW AI ART FOR THE WEEK: While they had their four movie picks for the month, Jamie and Jeanne requested to close their month of nominations with one more submission of AI art, so I’ll oblige.
My real ears are more proportional.
THE BEST:
The absolutely incredible physical and mental feat: The achievement of the climb is a given, even if you don’t enjoy the movie. He was the first to do it, and nobody else has since. As Alex’s friend and mentor Tommy Caldwell described it in the movie, imagine an Olympic gold medal-level athletic achievement, [where] if you don’t get that gold medal, you’re going to die. The physicality is elite, but so too is the mental fortitude against the consequences. That said, it’s always surprising what humans can achieve when there is no choice. And thousands of feet up on that rock face, there is indeed no choice.
What it means to be a good woman and (future) wife: Alex’s girlfriend in the movie and now wife Sanni exemplifies what it means to be wifely. She doesn’t try to control Alex. She supports Alex, no matter what, even when her own judgment is against him. There is nothing more important in a wife, and I like to believe it’s her love against her own opposition and fear that puts him literally over the top. Appropriately, her supportive patience was rewarded, and she got exactly what she earned. Alex and Sanni had a baby girl, June, in February 2022.
What it means to be a good man: I know it’s easy to argue that Alex Honnold is some kind of psycho who takes unnecessary risk for little actual gain, other than saying he did something or being the first to do it. But the truth is, there’s something inherent to the male spirit about that. Sure, Alex doesn’t need to take the risk, but society needs men who will. Prior generations needed this sort of fortitude for war, or settling new territory, or developing dangerous new technologies. Men willing to risk their lives for achievements never previously thought possible is how society advances and lives get better.
My point is not that Alex Honnold made your life better, of course. My point is that men of his traits will. It’s not realistic for all of us to climb El Capitan ropeless, but each of us has our own personal challenge and risk we can embrace for personal achievement and betterment. Alex Honnold is a mindset, and you don’t actually have to risk falling thousands of feet and splattering into the next dimension to emulate it. Comfort leads to stagnation. Challenge leads to progress. Take the risk. Discover the reward.
What it means to be a good friend: It must have been incredibly difficult for the film crew and Alex’s friends to watch this attempt. It’s anxious viewing even when you know it ends well. To watch it actually fearing any step or grip is his last, and if he falls, there’s nothing you can do but look away, had to be incredibly stressful.
But that’s why I have so much respect for Alex’s friends, too. They know their friend, and they know this is his path, and they choose to support him through it, because to have him fall without their support would be the worst fate of all, as Tommy Caldwell describes.
It’s a very difficult line to walk in friendship - how to advise friends without controlling them, how to respect friends’ wishes when you disagree, and how and when to walk away if you think a friend is being destructive. One could argue Alex is destructive, or unnecessarily risky, but I have a lot more respect for risk pursuant to ambition than I do risk pursuant to partying, or chasing women, or other degenerate dead ends. For all his possible faults, Alex Honnold is a man of incredible ambition, and that’s why he’s earned the supportive friends he has. Where I have friends of that same quality, I hope to support them this far too.
The psychology and physiology of fear: An underrated piece of the movie is the brief discussion about Alex’s all-but-inactive amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotion and specific to this case, fear. Alex having an abnormally inactive amygdala is fascinating for two reasons:
Think about the implications for the physiology of fear. Some people are anatomically and biochemically more inclined to be afraid, but that’s okay - it’s another reason not to compare yourself to others, only to compare yourself to you yesterday. Your fear tolerance may not be El Cap, but the experience in your brain on something smaller may actually be quite similar, so conquer your own mountains however big or small they may be, and find satisfaction in that.
Abnormalities may actually be assets. Hypothetically, if a doctor told you your brain functions abnormally, you might automatically think that’s some sort of disability or handicap. It may actually be Alex’s greatest talent. Even if there are things about you that are weird, or conceivably ‘less than,’ almost everybody has something they do very well, even exceptionally well. Search for that thing persistently until you find it. You may even discover that what you thought was a liability is actually incredibly valuable.
It’s very well shot and produced, especially given the terrain: The production on Free Solo is phenomenal. To shoot the insane climb as beautifully and clearly and dramatically as Jimmy Chin and his team did is a feat all its own. As Chin describes in the Vanity Fair video below, it was a combination of climbers scaling the walls themselves with cameras, remote cameras, and faraway cameras on the valley floor. Not only did this production team do the work of the climb themselves, but they made it look as stunning and compelling as it would be if you were climbing right alongside Alex himself. A true work of art and athleticism itself.
Sanni supports Alex
The many beautiful shots and intense shots of Free Solo
The incredible production of Free Solo
THE WORST:
Hurry up and climb or die: This is not a criticism I hold, but it’s a criticism I could see someone having, or at least one I often would have myself. There is a lot of background, and a lot of preparation before the climb, leaving only twenty or so minutes for the actual climb itself. In this case, I’m not bothered by that, because I think the support roles were fascinating and necessary to explain and understand the achievement. But if you’re the sort of person who’s more interested in the climbing technicalities, and the specific steps on every part of the rock face, you may be underwhelmed.
This presentation is as much about psychology and human relationships as it is the climb itself, maybe more so. I personally love that choice, but I could see how the climbing enthusiast might not.
THE RATING: 5/5 Wickies. Exceptional throughout, in athletic achievement, exploration of social and family roles, and technical production. This is the second time I’ve seen it, and I actually enjoyed the encore more.
YOUR RATING: Vote here ⬇ (Note: VPNs may interfere with your vote, so if you get an error message, try turning your VPN off.)
NEXT WEEK: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
AFTER THAT? YOU PICK - VOTE! August’s nominations are from listener JG Henry. (Note: VPNs may interfere with your vote, so if you get an error message, try turning your VPN off.)
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