Film Review — Thirteen Lives
★★★★☆
World-class cave divers lead a dangerous mission to rescue a group of children trapped inside a maze of flooded cave tunnels.
Ron Howard knows a thing or two about getting people out of a tight spot. A muted drama focused more on the facts than puff-piece Hollywood heroics, Thirteen Lives — a recreation of the incredible real-life rescue of twelve Thai youngsters and their soccer coach — marks a very welcome return to form for the veteran director.
Adopting a gritter approach, more Captain Phillips than Apollo 13, Howard immerses us in the rain-soaked crisis but does so with a careful and measured approach. The action focuses predominantly on the remarkable internationally coordinated rescue mission, correctly omitting the perspective of the trapped boys to build tension without ever feeling exploitative.
Appreciated, too, is the focus on the group working tirelessly to divert water from the mountain at great personal expense, which never feels like an afterthought.
Equally downplayed are performances from Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen. Their regional English accents falter from time to time, but the two, known for their ability to disappear into a role, are on assuredly excellent form as people more interested in saving lives than playing the hero for the cameras of the rapidly assembling world media.
Thirteen Lives is fittingly intense and gripping but does so in a way that feels truly empathic. Committing so much to veracity does come at the cost of some sort of big cathartic moment at its climax, as well as letting us know more about the heroes involved. But something tells me Richard Stanton is probably fine with that.
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