Infinite Storm

Some movies can create a compelling narrative out of minimalist storytelling.  For a good recent example, look at The Power of the Dog.  Infinite Storm, on the other hand, struggled mightily to hold my interest.  It tells a story of survival in a slow and plodding way, so that the only thing I was looking forward to was it being over at some point.   

The movie stars Naomi Watts, who it must be said is giving this her all.  She plays real-life search and rescue volunteer, Pam Bales, who lives alone, but from photos around the home and random flashbacks, we know she used to have a family with two young daughters. (A husband is never seen or mentioned.) On this particular day, she goes up into the nearby mountains, despite warnings of a storm and bitter temperatures hitting later in the day.  During her trek, she comes across an incoherent man sitting alone who is not dressed for the harsh conditions.  She names this mysterious man "John" (Billy Howle), and makes it her mission to make sure that they both get off the mountain safely as the storm intensifies, and both are faced with various trials of survival, such as almost drowning and below zero wind.

Save for a detail or two, this is not a synopsis, that's the entirety of the movie itself.  Like a lot of movies based on true stories, the film ends with photos of the actual people involved, and tells us what happened to them after.  The text tells us that "John" (his real name is never revealed) changed Pam's life, and that she went on to have another family.  The thing is, we never get the sense of Pam and "John" growing closer during their experiences.  They are distant with one another during their various adventures on the mountain, and even in the film's final scene where they meet for coffee and share their individual past pain with one another, I never felt the connection that I was supposed to.

Infinite Storm tries to build up its thin narrative with random flashbacks for Pam, and a lot of nature scenery that is well shot, but simply not that exciting or interesting.  I have no doubt that this story could be made into an exciting or thrilling movie, but the screenplay credited to Josh Rollins never finds it.  There's just not enough here to engage the audience, and while Watts and Howle are both good individually, they never form a bond, as I mentioned.  The problem here is not them anyway, it's that the movie fails to dig into these two characters, and turn them into people we want to spend 100 minutes with stuck on a mountain.  

It always amazes me when a movie like this manages to make mountain climbing or a rescue effort into something as dull as waiting for bread to rise, but that's sadly what has happened here.  I'm sure that the real like Pam and "John" had a thrilling experience together, and I kind of hope they're still in touch with each other.  I'm also sure that they could have told this story better than Hollywood did.

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