You have to ask why Josh Hartnett appears in movies like this. He is a reasonably well known actor and has appeared in a number of pretty good dramas over the years including I Come With The Rain, Penny Dreadful and the sublime Lucky Number Slevin. Look a little closer and you can find any number of under performing dramas, thrillers and action films that partly are the result of some of his poor choices in accepting and rejecting roles over the years. Such is the curse of a jobbing actor. Not every project can be a hit but at least it can be a little varied.
As it says at the start, this is a true story. Former hockey player Eric LeMarque (Josh Hartnett) has found himself in a lot of trouble. While under the influence of illegal substances he was involved in a car accident. To get away from everything for a few days before he has to present himself to court he goes to the mountains to do a bit of snowboarding. While out on an unfamiliar run he is caught up in a sudden snow storm and gets lost. Stranded and low on his recreational medicine he has to battle the elements, the wild animals looking for a hot meal and his own doubts and fears.
The film is pretty much what you would expect from this type of true life drama. The emphasis is placed on the external and internal struggles that Eric is facing. The fact that he is there in the first place to get away from it all isn’t lost on the audience. So, what we get is a TV movie of the week with more than a hint of a faith movie about it. A film with the word miracle in it is bound to attract a certain audience. Films are regularly produced to cater for this growing audience. It may not actually be one but it pushes the Christian agenda with Eric quoting scripture to keep him going while he battles the cold.
For a film that is all about the dread of being lost in the wilderness, it is a bit of a tame affair. Eric moves from one crisis to another with barely a touch of drama. A lot of this is down to the way the story unfolds. At no point do you feel like Eric is in any sort of trouble. He nearly goes off a cliff but grabs what looks like the smallest tree in the forest to save him. He falls into an ice bound lake but makes it out without much trouble. The list goes on. His problems with drugs are downplayed and seemingly overcome with will power alone. To reinforce his struggles the film is intercut with flashbacks to his overbearing father and his struggles to fit in as part of a team.
Hartnett has little to work with in terms of character development. The part of Eric is vaguely defined and it leaves nothing for him to work with. The main aim is to get the audience on his side and rooting for him in all his trials. This is never achieved as there is just so little interest in his issues. So, a weak lead needs strong support. Unfortunately that is another failing as the talented cast including Mira Sorvino are so little used as to make them no more important than the background scenery.
Part of the problem is the that the real life Eric is heavily involved in the production and gets a screen credit in the opening titles. His influence is palpable with the toning down of certain aspects and the highlighting of others, making the character out to be a good man at heart. I suspect this may be only part of the story and it isn’t hard to imagine another story where Eric is portrayed as a selfish and stubborn individual who got himself into a lot of trouble through stupidity and ignorance.
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