‘It’s just a tourist cave…’
The story of the twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave in Thailand was always going to be adapted into a film. Now, it could have been all Hollywood schmaltz and sentimentality but luckily legendary director Ron Howard took on the project. Having proven himself adept at adapting true-life tales in films as varied as A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Rush, it is no surprise that Howard does a great job here. That being said, it’s actually Apollo 13 that most closely resembles Thirteen Lives…
When a surprise monsoon traps a bunch of small children and their football coach in a cave, the world rallies around the area in an attempt to launch an unlikely rescue. Despite the best efforts of the Thai authorities, it is British cavers Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) that develop a plan to save the boys.
Howard makes the smart decision to dispense with a score (until the final moments) and this adds an air of authenticity to the project that is only enhanced by the lack of sentimentality or Hollywood bombast. Instead, Howard and his talented cast allow the story to take centre stage, Farrell even has the decency to master an accent other than his own for the first time in his career. Despite this, it is Mortensen and later Joel Edgerton who steal the show, the latter arriving halfway through as the doctor who administers the ketamine to the children so that they can be tied up and guided through the caves unconscious. Yep. You read that right. This was the seemingly preposterous plan to save the boys and their coach. Seeing this played out on screen is claustrophobic and stressful, but also incredibly impressive. By taking on a genuine once-in-a-lifetime event that captured the world’s imagination, Howard has delivered one of his best films in years.
Thirteen Lives is a heartstopping retelling of one of the most astonishing news stories of the past decade. But more than that, it’s a reminder that this was more than just content for the news cycle, everyone involved here was an actual person with hopes and dreams and everything else. Howard constantly reminds us of this and the result is a film that is utterly essential.