Under the big sky of Montana, a father and son walk across some of the most beautiful terrain on God's Earth. Towering snow-capped mountains, barren winter trees, rivers that seem like they are the most clear, clean and pure anywhere. But the land is as dangerous as it is beautiful, as are the creatures with whom our strong-yet-frail protagonists share it.
Here is another wilderness survival story that might remind you of either Jack London or Grizzly Adams, depending on your level of tolerance for vicariously roughing it. Its stars are Matt Bomer and Josh Wiggins, two actors who are as good looking as the scenery, which is unusual for this type of film. And yet, somehow they seem to belong, in the same way that the slick photography seems fit for a Montana tour video or a prize-winning feature in National Geographic. From the first frame to the last, it is a feast for the eyes. All of this lures the viewer in, like a hunter's bait, making you feel at ease, even though you know there are tough times ahead.
Cal (Bomer) is a life-long mountin man. His father (Bill Pullman) was a mountain man. His father's father was probably also a mountain man. Cal's son, David (Wiggins)...not so much. He lives with his mother in Texas and sees his father about once a year. Every year he goes up and experiences a taste of what his father calls heaven. He learns some hunting and survival tips, bird calls, etc. Then he goes home and forgets what he leaned. But this time will be differet, his father determines. "This year, you make your first kill."
Initially, David is a little bit like I think I would be in that situation: homesick, out of my element, glued to my phone. There are moments of disconnect and awkwardness between father and son, but not as many as you might expect. What's very clear from the onset is that these two love each other, in spite of their differences, and they're not out to make each other miserable. Cal has a deep desire to share his heritage with his son. And unlike most movie teens, David doesn't take until the film's end to realize and appreciate the importance of this, and he soon comes aboard his dad's plan, wanting to please him.
Once the two commit to this adventure, tensions seem to lift, and they enjoy some thoughtful, sometimes funny, father/son time. Cal tells David about his own father, and the important lesson he learned in his first big hunt. In the shelter of a sheepman's hut one night, the boy has a startling moment of introspective uncertainty when his dad looks him in the eyes and asks him what he really knows about life. This further propels David's desire to learn from his old man so that he may have something to pass on to another generation.
In daylight, hunting begins in earnest, and adventure leads to misadventure. Cal gets critically injured and David must use all his strength and what he has learned to get his father out and save both of their lives. Here is where you might expect to see some of the familiar survival movie tropes that you've seen before, and you kind of do, except that it's somehow...different. The stakes have never felt this high in other movies, and yet there is a calm and measured determination with which these two men (because yes, the boy is quickly becoming a man now) deal with this life-or-death struggle. And as the two slowly--ever so painfully slowly (for them, not the audience)--make their way toward rescue, there is a true bonding between father and son that never would have happened if this crisis had not fallen upon them. From now on, their lives and their relationship are changed forever.
I watched this film with my dad, and it was impossible not to think of our own relationship while watching this film. I thought of the things we have in common, and the things we don't. I thought about times of closeness and other times of distance. But mostly, I thought about the unconditional bond of love between fathers and sons, between family members. I realized that not eveyone is blessed with this, and I felt grateful.
Walking Out was filmed entirely in Montana by Montana natives Alex and Andrew Smith, based on a much beloved story by David Quammen, with amazing cinematography by Todd McMullen. Point of trivia: Wiggins knew that his character would have to carry Bomer's character on his back for much of the film. He thought there would be a dummy, but there wasn't. The young actor is stronger than he looks.
This poignant film is available is select theatres (possibly not ever Portland) and VOD. Thank heaven for VOD.
