Thirteen Lives: Film Review
You will probably remember reading about the Thai cave rescue back in 2018. I, for one, was hooked on the new headlines coming out of Thailand so I was keen to watch Ron Howard‘s dramatisation, Thirteen Lives. And I’m pleased to report it’s gripping stuff!
Twelve young boys and their football coach end up trapped in the Tham Luang cave due to a sudden downpour. With the cave system now almost entirely submerged and the Navy SEALs struggling to find the boys, the Thai government calls upon British rescue divers Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell) to help with the mission and they recruit their associates Harry (Joel Edgerton), Chris (Tom Bateman) and Jason (Paul Gleeson) for assistance. The film also follows Thai Navy SEAL Saman (Sukollawat Kanarot) and General Paochinda (Vithaya Pansringarm), who is in charge of the whole operation.
Even if you know the story well (I had recently seen the documentary so I certainly did), this is still a really gripping and intense movie. At first, I couldn’t believe that it had a two-and-a-half-hour runtime but it doesn’t feel that long whatsoever – it just flies by because you’re so invested in everybody’s survival. Howard wastes no time jumping straight into the action and there is no filler – it’s all important and necessary.
Howard places you right in the cave with the divers to make you realise how narrow, murky and treacherous some of the underwater tunnels they went through were. I felt a bit panicked and claustrophobic watching them in some of the tighter spots! It really made you appreciate the divers’ level of expertise, skill and endurance as well as their physical and mental strength. They had to repeatedly make the six-hour underwater journey to the boys’ location virtually in the dark and it’s so impressive.
But the rescue was very much a team effort involving around 5,000 people from many different countries and Howard tries to capture this sense of coming together by shining a light on various groups – like the water diversion volunteers – who all played a part in the operation.
Howard didn’t really need to elevate the drama in the classic Hollywood way because the true story is already so gripping and emotional. Even if you know the outcome, you will still be holding your breath as the team try to dive the boys out because it’s such a risky idea. I got choked up watching the documentary and again with this – it’s just such a moving story.
Mortensen adopts an impressive British accent to play Stanton, the cold and businesslike member of the bunch who has a pessimistic outlook on the retrieval mission. Farrell’s Volanthen is kinder and more compassionate to others and expresses his emotions more openly. Edgerton has a pivotal role as the doctor and diver and was my personal favourite.
Thirteen Lives tells an incredible and moving true story about one of the greatest recent rescue missions. I would also recommend watching the documentary The Rescue if you want to know more about the real divers.
In selected cinemas from Friday 29th July and Prime Video from 5th August