This past summer, I drove through Montana on vacation and as part of my drive I got a good look at the wildfires the state was experiencing in a big way, as well as seeing Hot Shot teams at work (including following a couple of their busses on my way out of Great Falls at one point), so naturally this film held a great deal of appeal to me as it tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots, a team of firefighters that specifically handle wildfires based in Prescott, Arizona. Now, I also find myself at a quandary as to how I review the movie. Do I presume that my readers know the true story or do I avoid spoilers? What I will do is keep the main review spoiler free and then discuss more in depth at the end of the review.
Eric Marsh (played by Josh Brolin) wants to certify his team of firefighters as a legitimate Hot Shot firefighting crew after years of not being able to call shots during wildfires his crew is called to as he feels he could fight the fires better and more efficiently. He turns to Prescott Fire Chief Duane Steinbrink (played by Jeff Bridges) to help get his crew certified. During the process, Eric starts interviewing for a couple open spots on the team. One applicant, Brendan McDonough (played by Miles Teller), is a recovering junkie with a newborn baby to support that the other teammates don't think will make the cut but are surprised when Eric hires him. However Brendan rises to the challenge and gets in shape to become one of the team and eventually befriends them, especially Christopher McKenzie (played by Taylor Kitsch). Against the odds, the team gets certified as fire season starts, taking the team all around the state to fight intense wildfires while dealing with the tensions being away so much puts on their home lives, especially between Eric and his wife Amanda (played by Jennifer Connelly).
The film was directed by Joesph Kosinski from a script by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer. The filmmakers took a lot of care with this film giving their characters room to breathe and develop. They maintain their main focus on only a few of the crew, mainly Eric Marsh and his wife Amanda, who supports her husband's firefighting career, but also has found herself missing him more and wanting to start a family. The other main focus is on Brendan McDonough, who we first meet getting high with a friend but when he discovers his ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his kid, he decides to get clean and try to get a job to help support her, which leads him to Marsh's team. None of the rest of the team think McDonough will get a shot, but Marsh takes him on immediately recognizing that Brendan was a former drug addict. The film reveals over the course of it's runtime that Eric Marsh was a former addict as well and probably recognized himself in McDonough to take a chance on him. They also take a fair amount of time establishing the friendship between Eric Marsh and Duane Steinbrink as well as Marsh and his second in command, Jesse Steed (played by James Badge Dale).
The film also does a good job depicting the job of fighting wildfires and exactly how that is done. It really gives a good sense of how it works and what the job is like, based on the reading I've done since I saw the movie and reactions of real life wildfire firefighters. The actual was they go about fighting these fires and how it works was fascinating to me. The film also goes over the training the hot shot crew goes through, including deployment drills to pull out and set up protective shelters they can use as protection if they get caught in the middle of a wildfire. There is also a great moment where the team is sitting along a ridge, watching a wildfire they successfully contained, enjoying a moment of rest and cheering each time a flaming tree falls off the opposite cliff side to the rocky floor below, each erupting in a large fireball.
The acting all around is quite good in the film. Josh Brolin leads the group with a wonderfully layered performance as Eric Marsh, who so badly wants his team to become certified Hot Shots and Brolin does a great job of portraying the stress that Marsh was under trying to achieve that as well as his drive. Miles Teller likewise does great as Brendan McDonough, showing the drive he has to get his life together and provide for his newborn kid. Jennifer Connelly was also really good as Amanda Marsh, who worked as a horse trainer on the ranch they shared. Connelly does a good job in the role, showing the conflict her character feels. She wants to keep supporting her husband and his career, but also wants him home more too and Connelly does a good job portraying that struggle. Taylor Kitsch has a nice supporting turn as Christopher McKenzie who becomes a good friend and eventual roommate of Brendan McDonough. There's an amusing sequence in the film where Brendan gets to babysit his kid for a weekend and Christopher goes a little crazy with baby proofing the place with bubble wrap and electrical tape, as well as watching these two hapless guys try to take care of an infant on their own that provides some welcome comic relief. Kitsch has had a bit of a rocky transition to a film career, but here finds an opportunity to unleash the same charm that made him so lovable on the T.V show Friday Night Lights.
Only the Brave does more or less follow the mold of the biopic film, but at the same time excels in how it portrays it's subjects. Taking a very much warts and all approach and allowing them to exist as they were, as fully formed individuals, rather than simply stoic heroes makes it stand out. Because of this, the viewer gets a better sense of each character and in turn makes the film that much more potent. Along with skilled direction and some fantastic cinematography made for a really good movie.
Now, I'm going to get into the more spoiler-filled section of the review. If you wish to remain spoiler free and want to go into the film completely fresh, turn back now. It is a very well made film and one well worth checking out.
Okay, if you're still with me you have either already seen the film or already know what happens and want to know how it was handled. The bulk of the film covers the formation of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots and them getting certified as well their growth as a unit leading up to the climactic Yarnell fire. The film takes some relatively minor liberties with with the true story in the interest of the narrative, but the actual events of the Yarnell fire pretty much unfolds exactly as it did that day. It takes us through them arriving at the fire, trying to work and contain the fire, Brendan being selected to act as lookout for the team and the rest of the team having to make a fateful move during the course of the fire that eventually led to them becoming trapped by the increasingly intense fire. In a last ditch effort, they cleared an area and deployed their shelters, hoping to ride out the fire. Mercifully, the film cuts away at this point to Brendan being rescued from his position and assisting with moving his team's vehicles. From the safety zone, he listens intently to the radio, hoping to hear news that his team had gotten to safety only to hear the report that all 19 were killed in the fire. Throughout this, there is superb acting, with Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Jeff Bridges all being standouts when they individually hear the news. I went into the film knowing what happened and the ending was still gut wrenching to watch. The big reason is that, for the prior two hours or so, the film had done such a great job developing these characters it makes the ending all that more tragic. I also appreciated the fact that the film portrayed the events more or less as they actually happened without adding anything additional or trying to assign undue blame for the tragedy.
In the end, I found the film to be very well made and quite moving even with the devastating ending. It is definitely one I would categorize as an ugly cry movie. At the same time though, because the film keeps it's focus on the characters themselves and not the tragedy that happened, the film succeeds wonderfully and one that I would recommend.
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