“FREE SOLO” — 3½ stars — Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Sanni McCandless; PG-13 (brief strong language); in general release
You might be surprised by “Free Solo,” the new documentary account of Alex Honnold’s quest to climb El Capitan, Yosemite’s famous 3,200-foot granite wall — without a rope.
We meet Alex in spring 2016, as he’s getting serious enough about “free soloing” El Capitan to bring a documentary crew into the effort. Up until now, Alex’s experience on the famous cliff face has been roped, but as he’s developed confidence with other ropeless climbs, El Capitan looms as the ultimate challenge.
As you might expect, Sacramento-born Alex is a unique character. His climbing has brought him enough fame to earn the equivalent of a “moderately successful dentist” — his words — and at one point we see him handing out autographs at a book signing. Yet Alex lives in an ugly white van and eats discount meals. He has a semblance of a social life but declares that he “will always choose climbing over a lady.”
That declaration is tested when Sanni McCandless enters the picture, Alex’s new girlfriend who he met at a book signing. Sanni is an amateur climber and admires Alex’s passion, but as Alex gets more and more invested in preparing for his El Capitan solo climb, their relationship begins to threaten his carefree lifestyle.
For one, Alex now has to deal with Sanni’s fears. But in a more tangible sense, he gets injured twice on climbs within a month — and at least one of them is directly Sanni’s fault. (This is augmented by a lengthy photo tribute to the numerous other free climbers who have been killed in action over the last 20 years.)
A third factor in the “will he or won’t he” dynamic is Alex’s film crew, led by longtime friend and collaborator Jimmy Chin. Frequently, “Free Solo” brings Chin and his crew in front of the camera, and we see discussions on how to shoot the climb and whether shooting the climb will be a dangerous distraction to an already risky venture.
Like Sanni and the other friends and associates interviewed for the film — which include Alex’s mother Dierdre and professional climber and longtime friend Tommy Caldwell — Chin and the camera crew are visibly concerned over whether he should go through with the attempt, and this human element is every bit as engaging as the stunning climbing footage scattered throughout the film.
Climbing enthusiasts will be happy with a film that includes such thrilling shots. In that sense alone, “Free Solo” is a film well worth seeing. But it’s those more interpersonal dynamics, combined with directors Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelvi’s effort to understand what makes Alex tick (at one point he actually gets an MRI to see if something is off with his brain), that make “Free Solo” a special movie and a valuable addition to an already strong run of documentaries in 2018.
Rather than a simple Red Bull-fueled celebration of Honnold’s life-on-the-edge obsession, the documentary is a thoughtful, probing portrait. “Free Solo” is a rewarding investigation into the nature and value of setting goals, and the impact those goals have on the people around us.
Content advisory: “Free Solo” is rated PG-13, but audiences should note that the film contains sporadic use of R-rated profanity throughout the film, specifically the F-word, which is used a handful of times; running time: 100 minutes