Johnson Thomas
An immersive survival thriller
Film: The Lost Bus
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera, Yul Vazquez, Levi McConaughey, Kay McCabe McConaughey
Director: Paul Greengrass
Rating: * * * 1/2
Runtime: 129 m
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“The Lost Bus,” is an adaptation of a book, Lizzie Johnson’s nonfiction book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, which dramatizes the events of the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history.The film focuses on a school bus driver’s efforts to save a group of kids from a rampaging wildfire while ensnared by debilitating personal problems himself.
Director Paul Greengrass who has made some memorable films based on true stories (“Bloody Sunday,” “22 July,” “United 93,”) returns to screens with yet another thriller true story in “The Lost Bus.”
Kevin (Matthew McConaughey) who is in his late forties, has returned to his childhood hometown of Paradise, California, following his dad’s passing. He has a troubled family life. He has an ex-wife who hates him, his dog has cancer, his mother, Sherry (Kay McConaughey, his real life mom) has dementia, and his son, Shaun (Levi McConaughey, real life son), is resentful of everything he does. Kevin needs to earn more as a school bus driver, but Ruby (Ashlie Atkinson), the director of transportation, won’t help him with extra shifts.
Kevin is totally frustrated and at the end of his rope, when more troubles arrive with the fast spreading wildfire. Fire chief Ray (Yul Vazquez) and his teams are all at sea. Evacuation seems like the only option. At the school, teacher Mary (America Ferrera) and 23 kids hop on to Kevin’s bus for a ride to safety.
This is a typical disaster-movie that plunges the viewer into the danger zone with a swiftness that could catch you unawares. Characters get introduced quickly and the narrative moves fleetly towards showcasing how people react to the disaster happening in front of their eyes.
The wildfire is filmed with burgeoning ferocity and provides the necessary enhancement for the drama of rescue under great peril. Greengrass tracks the development of the fire over time as it burns its way to Paradise. Burning heat intensity rages uncontrolled and the viewer can almost feel its singe. This film plays like a true blue disaster movie. Some of the sequences in this film are truly terrifying. Handheld cinematography, evocative visual effects makes us experience Kevin’s precarious situation. A large part of the narrative concentrates on Kevin and Mary’s tryst with the raging fire and the critical decisions they have to make on the run. Time is of essence, danger at every turn, and that is conveyed with a great deal of trepidation and suspense.
Vibrating giant power lines, shuddering transmission towers, wires and metal structures, magnify the risk involved as the roaring flames spreads across the mountains and cliffs of Northern California. Watching Kevin drive dangerously to navigate the horrors that surround him is likely to make you hold your breath. Even though Kevin is shown to suck at life his heroism in the face of disaster is something that would rouse you and make you appreciate his efforts.
This helps us follow the spread of this real-life disaster and also conveys the insignificance and helplessness of the mortals fighting it.
The screenplay by Greengrass and Brad Ingelsby gets bogged down by character detail but it’s all to the benefit of the viewer who walks out of the theatre with a satisfied look. This is a survival against all odds picture and the survival challenges add sharpened thrills to the overall viewing experience.
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