Free Solo

I first discovered Alex Honnold while I was in university, putting off writing a paper that was due the next day. I'd already resigned myself to pulling an all nighter, and at circa 3am, instead of starting the essay I was watching every video of him that I could find on Youtube. I had no previous interest in climbing, but watching him climb without a rope made me anxious and uncomfortable - I was wholly unable to tear myself away.

This evening I watched Free Solo, just a week after it won an Oscar. I had high expectations for the documentary, both because of its recognition by the Academy and also because of my admiration of Honnold. It comfortably surpassed them.

The film is inspirational, uplifting, sad, terrifying and thought-provoking all in vaguely equal measure. In capturing an experience completely unique to only one human being, it similarly captures something of the essence of humanity in all of us. Honnold only has one goal in life, and he devotes the entirety of himself towards achieving it. He does not prioritise, for he only has a singular priority, everything else is appreciably close to irrelevant. Of course his attitude would not serve the majority of us well - but I can't help but be jealous anyway.

He is unwavering from his beliefs. In a way, he is incredibly selfish - but he seems unphased by this. Achieving his own goals is worth pushing others away, and the way the film portrays this is particularly interesting. Honnold's girlfriend, Sanni, almost comes off as the villain of the story, clearly not wanting him to risk his life so brazenly, and even imploring him to consider his relationship with her as a reason not to do so. In some lights she may come off as a distraction, but the film does an excellent job of highlighting both sides of the story here.

Honnold is relentlessly and unrepentently himself in her presence (or at least, in the presence of both her and the camera), not only coming across as as much of a goofball as ever, in one scene even telling her that he feels no obligation to maximise his own lifespan - seemingly inviting her to confront his mortality as much as he himself. He has had his entire lifetime to rationalise away fears of his own death while alone on the wall, but she has not, and clearly cares about him very dearly. The fact that she is even able to maintain a relationship with him at all, given the huge risks he regularly and willingly takes with his life, are testament to her character in my eyes, as well as testament to the complex and wondrous potential that human relationships have.

It's not just Sanni that struggles - Honnold's camera crew are acutely aware of the pressure placed on them, and the looming possibility that they may be about to film their friend plummet to their death. They all show very visible signs of immense stress and emotion, some bursting into tears or being unable to watch Honnold's ascent through the camera lens, but they remain committed to the project and never raise their concerns with Alex himself. They understand what they have to do, and that they have to do it - if Honnold can solo the wall, they can film him. I suspect Sanni, and Honnold's other friends feel the same - his ability to unintentionally inspire the people around him ultimately leads to his own success.

Free Solo certainly left a mark on me. Honnold describes himself as having a warrior's spirit, in one of the only moments in the 100 minute runtime he isn't goofing off. Perhaps I will be able to cultivate my own warrior's spirit.

I truly cannot recommend the film enough, go watch it at the next available opportunity.