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In one of the most interesting (and indoor) sections of the documentary Free Solo, mountain climber Alex Honnold agrees to undergo an MRI to explore what may be happening in his brain. Could peering inside his mind help understand why Alex takes unthinkable risks that go way beyond extreme? Alex climbs mountains without ropes, without equipment -- "free solo" -- and he has his sights set on El Capitan, a sheer slice of granite that juts 3,000 feet up from the valley floor. No one in his right mind would do this, but the MRI suggests that, indeed, Alex is not in his right mind. His amygdala, the area of the brain that helps control fear and risk-taking, appears to have no activity.
And yet when a romantic interest enters Alex's life, and he realizes how much danger he is putting his film crew into by having them follow his bare-handed ascent, something unexpected happens: He starts to care. He starts to grow ... which may doom his rock climbing.
As jaw-dropping, gripping and dizzying as the film's stunning photography is, what really makes Free Solo so fascinating is watching a man make an even more dangerous transition: from individual to couple, from "me" to "us."
Walk in knowing absolutely nothing about the subject or the sport, and you'll walk out with both an education and some profound insight into two undeniable human conditions: the bliss of success, and the burden of mortality.
Viewed AMC Universal City -- 2005
February 16, 2019
And yet when a romantic interest enters Alex's life, and he realizes how much danger he is putting his film crew into by having them follow his bare-handed ascent, something unexpected happens: He starts to care. He starts to grow ... which may doom his rock climbing.
As jaw-dropping, gripping and dizzying as the film's stunning photography is, what really makes Free Solo so fascinating is watching a man make an even more dangerous transition: from individual to couple, from "me" to "us."
Walk in knowing absolutely nothing about the subject or the sport, and you'll walk out with both an education and some profound insight into two undeniable human conditions: the bliss of success, and the burden of mortality.
Viewed AMC Universal City -- 2005
February 16, 2019
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