Infinite Storm
“Infinite Storm” is the second time in a month where we’re getting Naomi Watts as a woman who, looking for a moment of clarity after tragedy, goes deep into nature, only to be brought back to reality by needing to be there for another person. When it began, it felt as though this movie and “Desperate Hour” would take similar trajectories when it came to following Watts’s characters. The difference is, “Infinite Storm” is inspired by a true story; it still feels as formulaic as the earlier film does.
Pam Bales is part of a volunteer Search and Rescue team in Pemigewasset Valley in New Hampshire. She goes on a hike up Mount Washington as an attempt to take her mind off of her grief; you see, her two daughters died in a horrible carbon monoxide leak. But the weather is not kind, and soon she seems to be stuck in a situation akin to “127 Hours.” As she makes her way down the mountain, she comes across a young man (Billy Howle) who’s near frozen. She’s determined to get him down; he doesn’t seem to want to go, however.
Naomi Watts is usually reliable as someone who shows determination in the face of adversity, emotional strength in the face of uncertainty, whether you’re discussing a movie like “Funny Games” or “Mulholland Drive” or “The Ring” or “The Impossible.” I’m not sure whether it’s the screenplay by Josh Rollins or the direction and storytelling from Malgorzata Szumowska, but Watts doesn’t have that same energy in her performance. That’s a problem when the film is about survival, and more so when the character she’s opposite against is so passive and one-note. When the rescue comes in, we do sense Pam’s survival instincts and need to help, but “John”- Howle’s character- sometimes feels more mentally unstable and caught in circumstance than emotionally depressed. That doesn’t help the drama, except for one scene between them where they have a real conversation. It’s not enough to save the film. By that point, it feels as though “Infinite Storm” is trying to finish its homework at the last minute. It’s unfortunate, because the people at the heart of the actual story deserve better.
