Free Solo

This is probably my favorite character study of all time. Alex is like a figure of Greek myth. The doc does such a good job highlighting how affable and goofy he is, but how much is bubbling under the surface in terms of drive, self loathing, and scarring from being so different from the rest of the world. Little things like standing in his kitchen drinking water out of a pot or eating dinner off of a spatula are really worthy inclusions that make it feel like he’s an alien in our world, and the only place he’s ever truly at home is on the wall. Also just a beautiful demonstration of what it means to love someone truly. None of the people in his life understand why soloing motivates him, but they’re able to understand that it's is the greatest source of joy in his life and they work so hard to contort themselves around it out of a genuine love for Alex. The climbing scenes themselves are obviously gripping, and I like that they save the really dramatic shots for the actual attempt instead of trying to convey the scale up front.