Overview
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A documentary about our most famous New Zealander and his world first ascent has been a long time coming and Leanne Pooley's depiction of events doesn't disappoint.
Beyond the Edge is made up of a rich layering of achival and contemporary audio recordings with historians, climbers and most significantly of Edmund Hillary taking us through his journey. This is clearly more than an imaginative retelling 'based' on real events. It's presented in 3D which, despite coming at a cost to the sharpness of the imagery, I think worked here.
The audio is supported by a myriad of photos and original film footage from the expedition but that only gets you so far. Pooley and the crew had to shoot many re-enactment scenes on the South Island's Tasman Glacier with lead actor Chat Moffit, who is the spitting image of Hillary. Sonam Sherpa who plays Tenzing Norgay is another remarkable lookalike and both play their roles well. Hillary's hunger to be selected to reach the summit comes through as does his slightly awkward and shy nature.
I went in to this film wanting to know two things; what drove Hillary to want to achieve a seemingly impossible feat and how did he and Tenzing actually get there. The second question is covered thoroughly, sometimes in more detail than really necessary but it's interesting regardless. What I thought was a shame though was that who Hillary was as a man, his family life and his background is barely skimmed over.
At times the pace of the film dragged with the methodical nature of the storytelling but the incredible landscape made up for it. You really do get a feel for what it must have been like to be on that mountain and to climb further than anyone had gone before. As silly as it sounds I was willing Hillary and Tenzing on, hoping that the oxygen wouldn't run out, that they wouldn't get injured and that they would just keep going!