When a Thai boys soccer team was trapped in a cave by flash flooding in 2018, the world was riveted as divers attempted to locate and rescue the teenage boys and their coach in the flooded cave, ultimately calling in volunteers who specialized in cave diving. Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell play two of those cave divers, middle-aged hobbyists who travel from their homes in the U.K. to volunteer to help save the boys and their coach. As the days dragged on, hope faded and it seemed only a miracle could save them. THIRTEEN LIVES dramatizes that 2018 rescue mission, and demonstrates exactly how miraculous it was.
This dramatic story was told previously in the documentary THE RESCUE, and while this dramatization follows the same facts, the visceral, emotional impact of this improbably rescue is even stronger. THIRTEEN LIVES depicts the risky events in a more detailed, powerful fashion, while still sticking to the already dramatic facts, but the drama allows a deeper, more rounded human story of the people involved in this astonishing rescue.
Director Ron Howard generally sticks to the facts in this true-story based drama, with Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen starring as John Volanthen and Richard Stanton, a pair of Brits with an unusual hobby: cave diving. John and Richard, who travel from the UK to volunteer their expertise, later joined by other cave divers, including Australian doctor Richard “Harry” Harris (Joel Edgerton) in the effort to find and save the soccer team and their coach.
When the boys are trapped in the cave by early monsoon rains, the Thai government calls in the Thai Navy SEALs. While the SEALs are experts in rescue, their diving skills are honed for the open ocean and the flooded cave, with its murky water, tight passages and rushing current, proved daunting. But it is exactly the experience the cave divers had, the authorities reluctantly allow these amateurs from half a world away to have a go at it.
Bad luck and good luck both play roles in this story. The primary bad luck aspect was the unusual early arrival of the monsoon rains. After their soccer practice, the boys wanted to go a nearby cave , a “tourist” cave that they frequently visited. The cave was considered safe in June, but closed in mid-July when the monsoon rains that usually arrived. A bit of good luck was that their coach went along, even though the boys knew the cave well and planned only a short visit before a birthday party for one of the boys. A sudden and intense downpour filled the cave with water, trapping the team deep within.
A stroke of luck was that the families quickly realized the boys were missing and recognized their bicycles outside the cave entrance. Another bit of luck was that an expert cave diver who lived in the area had mapped the cave extensively, and also was aware of other cave divers who might be able to help.
When this crisis arose, many of us were as unaware of the hobby of cave diving as officials in Thailand were. At first the Thai SEALs and other Thai officials were skeptical about these foreign amateurs and barred them from entering the cave. Eventually they were persuaded to let them have a try to locate the boys and their coach – at their own risk.
The need to find and rescue the boys before the cave entirely fills with water gives the film a ticking clock urgency, and the international mix of rescuers, along with the anxious parents, sets up potential for both conflict and cooperation. Although the documentary previously told this story, this narrative film depicts the risky events – particularly the astonishing final rescue- in a more powerful fashion.
While taking us through the events of the tension-filled rescue, director Ron Howard still gives the actors room to work so they can develop the characters, which deepens the human story aspect of this rescue. Although running almost two and a half hours, the film never feels that long, as the nail-biting tension of events, the dynamics of the characters, and a brisk pace keep us full involved.
The primary focus is on the British cave divers played by Mortensen and Farrell but Joel Edgerton gets his moment, as do the other actors. Mortensen’s Richard Stanton is a flinty, plain-spoken retired firefighter who has a risky hobby but goes about it in a way to reduce risk. Colin Farrell’s John Volanthen is a more easy-going person, an IT expert who finds cave diving a relaxing escape, but who is a family man particularly moved to help save the trapped boys.
The cast is fairly large and details the multiple fronts of efforts to save these boys. While the Thai SEALs and the cave divers battled daunting conditions searching for the boys, other teams pumped water from the flooded cave and volunteers, including a hydrologist, tried to block the sink holes on the mountain above that channeled water into the cave. The film does a good job conveying this multi-pronged effort in a cinematic way, with animated maps illustrating the various points in the long, complex cave, the fourth largest in Thailand, as we see the rescuers navigating the difficult passages, spiked with stalagmites and stalactites, and filled with rushing water. Fine cinematography by … delivers gripping visuals as the story written by Don McPherson and William Nicholson keeps us in its hold.
The result is a tense, suspense-filled drama, with memorable characters crafted by a strong cast, capped by a jaw-dropped rescue, for a truly uplifting film.
THIRTEEN LIVES opens Friday, August 5, in theaters in select cities and streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
