Survival movies tend to be a tricky subject. Considering the whole plot of the movie centers around an individual or group of people trying to escape their current situation for 90-120 minutes, each movie needs to do something truly unique in order for it to keep the audience engaged for the entire run time. More often than not, it’s usually the solo outings that tend to be the stronger survival movies, rather than group movies, with movies like Cast Away, 127 Hours, and The Martian being much more intriguing than films like Everest or The Perfect Storm. It takes a whole lot of talent to carry the majority of a movie - or in some cases literally the entire movie - on one’s shoulders, and the movie’s success relies solely on this actor’s strength, and if done right, the journey is often incredibly satisfying or heartbreaking, depending on the outcome.
In Arctic, the individual in question is Mads Mikkelson. The film follows him as a man trapped in the Arctic Circle, trapped as he goes through a daily routine of mapping his surroundings, checking his fishing lines for food, and attempting to send distress signals, as he awaits rescue. One day, a helicopter approaches but almost immediately crashes, killing the pilot and severely injuring the passenger, a young woman. As he tends to her injuries, he soon sets his sights on a building that he discovers is two days away and trudges through the arctic hopefully to potential rescue.
One thing that should be made perfectly clear in this movie is the fact that there really aren’t that many dramatic beats. Parts of the movie consists of Mikkelson going through his daily routine, hoping he’ll have better luck than the previous day. Other parts simply consist of him walking from location to location. The audience gets a clear sense that his character has an incredible drive, so there’s always a great sense of intrigue to see what happens next, though when one breaks down all the large dramatic beats, not a whole lot technically happens.
Because of this, the movie stands up strong almost solely due to Mikkelson’s performance. He does a lot of heavy-lifting in this (both physically and metaphorically), with only the young woman, played by newcomer Maria Thelma Smaradottir to work off of, and even then, she’s incapacitated for just about all the movie, occasionally gaining consciousness to give an extremely brief exchange with Mikkelson.
Mikkelson’s acting chops are put to the test here, and he manages to pull this off to some wonderful success. There’s very little dialogue, with only the brief exchanges between him and the young woman, as well as a few scenes in which he speaks to himself, being vastly outweighed by long periods of silence. A lot of his acting comes from his facial expressions, and the look on his face in each scene manages to convey a lot. As mentioned, we get a clear sense that this is a man who will do whatever he needs to do to survive. We may not know much about him, but he gives off an incredible amount of energy, and thus, we want to know what his next move is going to be. He may not have quirky exchanges with himself like Matt Damon in The Martian or James Franco in 127 Hours, but he still keeps us on our feet and waiting for his next move. He doesn’t immediately guilt us into feeling bad for him, but rather he earns our respect.
The movie is also beautifully filmed, with director Joe Penna really capturing how desolate the Arctic Circle is. There are some fantastic shots of Mikkelson filmed from a distance that show how vast is seemingly unescapable surroundings are, which is also supported by the film’s consistently grim, suspense-building soundtrack. Despite the Arctic being as huge as it is, there are moments that give off a sense of claustrophobia, as we’ll see numerous scenes in which Mikkelson seems trapped with nowhere to go making for some tense, gripping moments.
Arctic may not consistently reach the same dramatic heights as other survival movies, but it does a great job keeping its audience tuned in. The film is a showcase for Mads Mikkelson to show how well he can carry a movie on his own, and he knocks it out of the park. With excellent visuals and some moments of true intensity, Arctic is a very thrilling endeavor.
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