The Mountain Between Us is a 2017 American drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad and written by Chris Weitz and J. Mills Goodloe, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Charles Martin. It stars Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as a surgeon and a journalist, respectively, who survive a plane crash, with a dog, and are stranded in High Uintas Wilderness with injuries and harsh weather conditions. The film premiered on September 9, 2017, at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 6, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.
Plot
After their flight is canceled due to stormy weather, neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Bass (Idris Elba) and photojournalist Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) hire private pilot Walter (Beau Bridges) to get them to Denver for connecting flights to Alex’s wedding in New York and Ben’s emergency surgery appointment in Baltimore. Walter, who has not filed a flight plan, suffers a fatal stroke mid-flight, and the plane crashes on a mountaintop in the High Uintas Wilderness. Ben, Alex, and Walter’s dog survive the crash but Alex has injured her leg quite badly. Ben straps her knee up, and buries the pilot while she is unconscious.
Once conscious, Alex thinks Ben has a better chance of finding help if he leaves her behind, but Ben refuses. Stranded for days with dwindling supplies, Alex grows skeptical that they will be rescued, although Ben wants to wait for help by the plane’s wreckage. Ben agrees to climb a ridge to see if there is any sign of a road. He sees nothing but mountains and barely survives falling down the side.
Alex goes through Ben’s things and listens to a message from his wife saying, ‘I’m glad to have had this time with you’. Alex is found by a cougar who attacks the dog. She sets off a flare and scares the big cat away; it dies. The dog returns. Later, Ben comes back and tends to the dog’s wounds. They are able to cook and eat the cougar giving them, Ben thinks, ten days of food.
The two argue over waiting for rescue or descending the mountain to find a phone signal. Alex starts a lone descent down the mountain. Ben catches up, having located the tail end of the plane he finds a beacon – but it is smashed. The two hike down to the tree-line and spend the night in a cave.
Using her telephoto lens, Alex thinks she sees a cabin. Alex falls into freezing water near an abandoned cabin. Alex remains unconscious and severely dehydrated. Ben saves her life by fashioning an IV. They stay there for several days while Alex recuperates, and eventually they have sex. Ben reveals that his wife died two years prior from a brain tumor. As Ben sleeps, Alex takes his picture. Later, she again asks Ben to leave her behind to find help. Ben initially agrees but soon returns; they press forward again.
The dog alerts them to a nearby timber yard. On their way toward it, Ben’s leg gets caught in a bear trap. Alex cannot free him, but she reaches the yard and collapses in front of an approaching truck. Ben awakens in a hospital and goes to Alex’s room, where he finds her with Mark (Dermot Mulroney), her fiancé. After a brief discussion, Ben leaves heartbroken. Some time after, Mark discovers Alex is no longer in love with him.
Ben and Alex go their separate ways after the hospital, with Ben keeping the dog. Alex tries calling Ben, but he ignores her calls until she sends him pictures of them on the mountain, writing that only he can understand them. This encourages Ben to call Alex. They meet at a restaurant, where it is revealed that Alex is now a part-time teacher, and Ben is a consultant at trauma clinics because his frostbitten hands will not recover sufficiently for him to perform surgery again. Ben says he did not call Alex because he thought she would be married; Alex says she could not go through with it because she fell in love with Ben. After leaving the restaurant, Ben admits to Alex that they survived because they fell in love. Alex dismisses her feelings and reminds Ben of something he said on the mountain: “the heart is just a muscle.” She tells him she doesn’t know how they could be together in the real world. They hug goodbye, and begin to depart in opposite directions. While walking away both characters become distraught, and finally turn and begin running back to each other. A split second before the two embrace, the screen cuts to black and the credits roll.
Cast
Idris Elba as Dr. Ben Bass, a neurosurgeon
Kate Winslet as Alex Martin, a photojournalist
Dermot Mulroney as Mark Robertson, Alex’s fiancé
Beau Bridges as Walter, the pilot of the charter plane
Raleigh and Austin as Walter’s dog
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