Went to the final showing here of Free Solo. Loved it. It's amazing. I was wondering how they were going to turn his solo of El Cap into a feature length film, and they totally nailed it. Some things I found amazing...
They did a fantastic job of showing all the hard work and preparation that Alex puts into his solos. The idea that he walks up to a 5.14 big wall and just solos it is false. It s a helluva process, and that was shown very well.
The film really conveys how hard the routes he climbs are. Freerider is far from a "gimme" route and the time they spend showing how difficult the moves are is amazing.
We got a lot more insight into Alex the person. Wow. His single mindedness is jaw dropping and his commitment is insane.
Having Tommy Caldwell featured with Alex was brilliant. Tommy is a pioneer in pushing the limits of rock climbing to new levels, but he's also a much more well rounded and grounded person than Alex, and his personal observations really add to the movie and our picture of Honnold.
Peter Croft was also a welcome addition. He's a Canadian from BC that has managed to make it to age 60 despite free soling at a high level. He's the old wise Jedi that has a twinkle in his eye as he passes his light-Sabre to his protege.
The bad? To me, it's only one part. The girlfriend. Firstly, Alex was Alex well before she came along. Her continued surprise at his lack of commitment to her compared to climbing was baffling. Uh, really, this is who this guy is, and it's public. Any woman entering into a relationship with him needs to know that he's not a normal guy, and the reason Alex has had few relationships is that this is right out there to be seen. Secondly, she came off as someone that really just wanted to be the girlfriend of someone famous. Famous for what didn't seem to matter. She went to his book signing without having a clue of who he was. Lastly, when the camera framed her, she seemed to be playing the part of the caring partner worried for the life of her love. Ugh.
