Review: Ron Howard back in form with compelling 'Thirteen Lives'

Amazon’s acquisition of MGM Studios is paying an early dividend in the form of Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives,” which opens on area screens Friday and makes its way to Amazon Prime the week after.

The film tells the story of the rescue of 13 members of a youth soccer team from a flooded cave in Thailand in the summer of 2018 and the international effort made to ensure they all make it out alive.

A film without 'Hillbilly Elegy's' deficiencies

Unlike Howard’s other recent foray in the true-life realm, “Hillbilly Elegy,” this film possesses none of the clunkiness nor the emotional pandering of that 2020 Netflix effort.

When a story captures the attention of the international community, it tends to be unnecessary to mess too much with the subject, and in the summer of 2018, this was the story.

“Thirteen Lives” reminds of the filmmaker who brought us “Apollo 11,” “Cinderella Man” and a “Beautiful Mind,” telling a compelling story with a subtle touch while allowing an A-list cast to do their work.

More importantly, he deftly balances the story’s view by telling it from multiple perspectives, including the families of those children along with the divers who volunteer their time and risk their lives coming to Thailand to work on a solution for saving lives.

Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell portray expert divers Rick and John. Their expertise eventually leads them to play key roles in the rescue. They, realizing, eventually, they need another skill level, bring aboard Chris (Tom Bateman), Harry (Joel Edgerton), a doctor and Jason (Paul Gleeson) to try to crack the problem.

The children face two possibilities — dying in the cave or while enduring a risky rescue. There’s no middle ground.

Ron Howard passes on unnecessary drama

That type of plot point could easily serve as a crutch for a director. Most would milk it for every drop of drama, much of it unnecessary.

Here’s what there is to appreciate and respect about Howard’s deft, light hand. He shows respect for William Nicholson’s screenplay and the subject matter. The latter genuinely speaks for itself; no overwrought drama is necessary.

But Howard also proves to be a master with this film with respect to emotion and technical expertise. In the former he’s able to evoke feelings of claustrophobia as he takes the audience on more than a few dives. That comes courtesy of some stellar work behind the camera with an impressive assist from cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.

The praise extends to the way Howard handles this cast and the performances he pulls from them. He’s not averse to allowing a mostly Thai cast to speak in their native language. Some directors would have made an effort to reach an audience by ensuring all the characters spoke English. Howard makes liberal use of subtitles.

Additionally, there’s something appealing about actors who don’t look for huge dramatic moments. Again, in the case of this impressive cast, they allow the words from Nicholson’s script to do the talking, drive the narrative and pump up the drama. There’s nothing in the way of blustery dramatic turns. Howard trusts his cast (why shouldn’t he?) and they, in turn, trust the words.

The result: Howard’s most satisfying film since the early 2000s.

George M. Thomas dabbles in movies and television for the Beacon Journal. Reach him at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas

Details

Movie: “Thirteen Lives”

Cast: Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Paul Gleeson

Directed by: Ron Howard

Running time: 2 hours, 27 minutes

Rated: PG-13 for some strong language and unsettling images.

Grade: A-

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Review: Ron Howard shows a deft touch with 'Thirteen Lives'