The Mountain Within Me: Film Review
I love watching real stories of people triumphing in the face of adversity and The Mountain Within Me, about former rugby union player Ed Jackson, is no exception.
This film tells the story of Jackson, who cut his rugby career short in 2017 when he unknowingly dived into a shallow pool and suffered an almost fatal spinal cord injury, leaving him an incomplete quadriplegic. Many feared he wouldn’t be able to walk again but through his determination, resilience and many months of rehab, he got back on his feet. Not content with that milestone, Jackson decided to go one step further and test his new limits through mountain and rock climbing.
The documentary contains footage of Jackson – who doesn’t have full use of his left hand and leg – climbing peaks such as Snowdon, Nepal’s Himlung Himal and Aiguille Dibona in the French Alps. These expeditions are the most exciting and gripping elements of the film. I watched in awe as Jackson kept pushing on despite all of his physical disadvantages. The cinematography here is breathtaking and some drone shots made me audibly say, “Woah.”
It also follows Jackson on trips for his Millimetres 2 Mountains charity, where he takes disabled people on adventures, and is interspersed with his motivational tweets, where he reminds people they are lucky to be alive and encourages them to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.
As someone who can only take these kinds of affirmations in small doses, I was glad to see them balanced out nicely by very frank conversations with Jackson and his wife Lois on the impact of his accident on their relationship – it hasn’t been easy and they don’t sugarcoat it.
The Mountain Within Me, directed by Polly Steele, is an inspirational and hopeful documentary that made me feel like I could do anything if I put my mind to it.
In cinemas from Friday 23rd August