Lightning does strike twice in the same spot.
Back in 1995, with Apollo 13, director Ron Howard achieved the impossible: He generated minute-by-minute, edge-of-the-seat suspense despite the fact that we knew, going in, what the outcome would be.
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| As the Thai Navy SEALs watch dubiously, British Cave Rescue Council divers Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen, foreground left) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell, foreground right) begin their attempt to penetrate deep into the cave system, in order to determine if the missing children are alive. |
This was another “The whole world is watching” event, during late June and early July 2018. Social media shared updates in real time; eyes were glued to televised news feeds. Given what eventually went down, a big-screen drama was inevitable.
The result — in the hands of Howard and scripters William Nicholson and Don MacPherson — is must-see cinema.
(That said, this is not a film for claustrophobes.)
On June 23, following a playful afternoon scrimmage, 12 members of the “Wild Boars” Thai soccer team, ages 11 to 16, impulsively decide to visit the popular Tham Luang cave beneath Doi Nang Non, a mountain range bordering Thailand and Myanmar. Their assistant coach (played by James Teeradon Sahajak) insists on chaperoning.
Back in their Chiang Rai province village, the team parents have gathered for one boy’s birthday party. When the team fails to show up on time, amid the drenching rain of an unexpectedly early monsoon, one lad — who opted out of the cave excursion — tells where they all went. As a body, everybody rushes to Tham Luang.
They find the boys’ parked bicycles at the cave entrance, but there’s no sign of anybody … and the water level inside the cave is rising rapidly.
What happens next ultimately involves roughly 100 government officials, 900 police officers, 2,000 soldiers and more than 10,000 volunteers from 18 countries, all of whom rapidly build what essentially becomes a bustling pop-up city outside the cave.
It’s barely organized chaos, but Howard has long excelled at finding the small moments and key individuals amid such bedlam; that’s where gripping drama resides. Nicholson and MacPherson’s script enhances the tension by delivering key dollops of information — such as the cave’s length — in small increments.
The film’s first audacious move comes when days pass, and the focus remains on the expanding rescue operation; we get no cut-aways to the boys and their coach, and we wonder: Are they even alive?
On top of which, as we learn more about the lengthy cave’s various zones, twists and turns — now mostly flooded — the situation seems dire. Hopeless. Impossible.
By happy coincidence, veteran British caver Vern Unsworth (Lewis Fitz-Gerald) is living locally; he shares detailed knowledge of the cave complex with the mobilized Thai SEAL team led by Capt. Arnont Sureewong (Tui Thiraphat Sajakul). Unsworth also encourages local Gov. Naronsack (Sahajak Boonthanakit) to request help from the British Cave Rescue Council.
Back in the UK, apprised of the situation, veteran cave diver John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) phones and explains matters to longtime friend and colleague Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen). This seemingly simple conversation is riveting, thanks to the nuances both actors grant their roles.
Stanton immediately senses a dangerous and likely doomed scenario; Mortensen, a cranky growly bear, grumbles and grimaces doubt and disapproval. Volanthen argues softly, applying gentle persuasion like an angler playing a stubborn fish. It’s fascinating to watch how Farrell uses his eyes and body language during this chat.
Volanthen and Stanton ultimately make the journey, the latter even more dubious when confronted with the situation’s discouraging complexity. By this point, Sureewong’s SEAL teams have made numerous exploratory dives, to no avail. We cringe at the limited visibility, strong water currents, stalactite and stalagmite obstacles that have become dangerous hazards underwater, and confined passages that sometimes narrow to scarcely more than 1-by-2 feet.
Each underwater sortie is eerie, mysterious and incredibly dangerous.
Kudos to Molly Hughes’ immersive production design, and underwater cinematographer Simon Christidis’ awesome effort. (You’ll frequently wonder where the heck he put the camera.)
By this point, Howard, Nicholson and MacPherson have drawn our attention to other key players. Pattrakorn Tungsupakul, as the single mother of the youngest and smallest boy, Chai (Pasakorn Hoyhon), becomes the key parental spokesperson who — defying the traditional customs defined by class distinctions — confronts Gov. Naronsack at a key moment.
Politics also comes into play. Naronsack, scheduled to have been termed out in disgrace before this crisis hit, is ordered by the prime minister to remain at his post throughout. The implication is clear, as Boonthanakit’s troubled expression verifies: He’s being set up as the fall guy, when the worst is confirmed.
Chai’s mother, in turn, frets that because her son — and two other boys, and the coach — are stateless, efforts to save them will be minimal: a particularly heartbreaking moment powered by Tungsupakul’s wrenching performance.
Volanthen and Stanton also aren’t greeted with open arms; they’re dismissed as geezer “amateurs” by the SEAL team, who think they’re just going to kill themselves.
The calamity is addressed from another, equally captivating direction when water engineer Thanet Natisri (Nophand Boonyai) shows up. He explains that all of the ground-level pumps attempting to extract water are next to useless, because the relentless monsoon rains are funneling constant gallons of water into the cave system via sinkholes at the top of the mountain. Somehow, all of that water must be diverted.
As the days pass, Volanthen and Stanton send for reinforcements: Australian diver/physician Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton), veteran diver Jason Mallinson (Paul Gleeson) and young British caver Chris Jewell (Tom Bateman). Gleeson plays Mallinson as a crusty, gung-ho coot; Jewell’s Bateman is eager but nervous.
“He’ll be fine,” Mallinson assures Stanton; Mortensen’s hooded expression is skeptical.
The entire film team also deserves accolades for working with so many Thai actors and crew members; indeed, much (most?) of the dialogue is subtitled. Howard and his producers strove for as much authenticity as possible; the actual Stanton served as a technical advisor, and the lead actors spent considerable time with their real-world counterparts.
This saga gains its impact from numerous elements: strong acting and credible scripting; the throat-clutching realization — in stages — of just how grim the situation is; the herculean efforts of the Thai SEALS and the Volanthen/Stanton team; a frankly insane, third-act Hail Mary play; a few jaw-dropping miracles; and, notably, the selflessness of the greater Thai citizenry, which comes together in an effort to save “our boys.”
A fantastic real-world calamity, transformed into a thoroughly gripping film.
You can’t ask for more.
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