Alpha (Review)
Good, Alpha. Sit! Stay! Build a Sincere Empathetic Connection with Audiences!
There have been relatively few movies this year that I’ve advocated seeing on the big screen, but Alpha is definitely one of them. I’m not talking just in theaters, I mean the biggest IMAX-iest 3D-est screen you can possibly afford. Because as much as I want to say that this is a movie about a boy and his dog, Alpha is a tale of survival and nothing brings together two species like Darwinism at its finest.
Alpha bills itself as a movie where mankind meets man’s best friend, and in that regard it pays off tremendously. Kodi Smit-McPhee plays a young hunter (Keda) who is separated from his tribe during the last Ice Age. Alone and scared of everything short of his shadow, the young hunter struggles to survive. Things look bleak for him when a pack of wolves decides to attack him, but brains triumphs over bark and he manages to survive. In doing so though, he injuries a wolf that he dutifully nurses back to health rather than finishing up. Together the two set out to find their way home before a quickly encroaching winter seals their fates.
As much as Keda and his pooch play the key roles in Alpha, it’s the landscape that Albert Hughes casts as the lead in the film. Every aspect of the setting is beautiful from the valleys to the mountains to the snowstorms and even the stars in the sky above. It plays like something you might see at Epcot exploring the natural beauty of the world, but this is a world that has long since disappeared. In doing so he creates a sense of loneliness for the characters. All this beauty as far as the eye can see, and yet the one thing that Keda is searching for remains missing from the horizon. This beautiful landscape becomes a perilous and unforgiving character in the film and that is what sets Alpha up for success from the beginning.
The other aspect that sets Alpha up to be better than I ever expected is that it features one hell of a dog. Alpha is a beautiful creature (specifically a Czechoslovakian Wolfhound) and does an incredible job. Her stoic expression speaks volumes with just a whine or twitch of the ear. Luckily, Kodi Smit-McPhee is able to keep up with his four-legged co-star and the two quickly form a sincere bond that carries through the rest of the film. Like I said before, this is more than just a movie about a boy and his dog. It’s a movie about THE boy and THE dog that made it possible for man to carry around tiny pups in purses.
Alpha features exquisite cinematography that is probably the most impressive I’ve seen this year. It would be easy to get bored of just one caveman wandering around, especially when he doesn’t speak English (not that he really has anyone else to talk to). The monotony though is broken up by soaring shots overhead and far back landscape shots tracking the duo over the many miles they have to travel. In fact, it’s hard to tell where the camera work ends and the special effects take over in some scenes given the attention to detail throughout it. I never thought I would say this walking into Alpha, but it’s very much a work of art.
Before you rush off to doesthedogdie.com, I’ll spoil the obvious for you. It would kinda defeat the purpose of domesticating dogs if the first one died off before Keda could show it off to his fellow cave people. So rest assured that there are some close calls for his canine companion, but there’s no need to worry about Alpha as the threats loom large. Afterall, the entire purpose of the film is for the two characters to learn as much as possible from each other. Keda teaches Alpha patience and calmness, and in return, Keda learns to be brave. It’s a give and take relationship that proves to be the foundation for modern domestication.
Alpha is truly much better than I expected it to be. Not only are the performances on point and the cinematography breathtaking, but it’s a movie that has heart. Sure the story is a bit on the simple side, but sometimes the simplest tales prove to be the most effective. This is a film that is as straightforward as possible, and that’s not a bad thing at all. It just means that it can focus on what really matters instead of bigging itself down with subplots or unnecessary elements. Alpha is inspiring in a lot of ways, and that’s why if you’re planning to see this movie in theaters you should spend the extra few bucks to see it the right way. Trust me, it will be worth every penny.
