Free Solo is a terrifying, but fascinating, film about Alexander Honnold, an American rock climber who, in 2017, attempted to ascend Yosemite’s El Capitan, a vertical, 3000-foot granite monolith, without ropes, a technique called “free soloing.” (I won’t give away whether he completed the task.) The film follows Honnold in the time leading up the herculean climb, as well as on the day of the attempted ascent. (The film’s photographers were rock climbers themselves.) I found just sitting on my butt on the couch watching the film tremendously stressful.
The fraught relationship between Alex and his then-girlfriend Sanni McCandless is also explored, as is Alex’s childhood and limited ability to express emotion. One has to wonder if Alex might be on the spectrum, and researchers even do an MRI of his brain, which is filmed; results are revealed in the movie.
I’d recommend the film, but be prepared to be at the edge of your seat, biting your nails for large sections of your movie-watching experience.