Streaming on Apple TV+
Movies about real-life disasters can be challenging to navigate, often requiring a delicate balance between factual accuracy and narrative needs, which is also true of historical films. While some films in this genre are better than others, so long as the story being told is worth our investment, all that is really required is proper execution and worthwhile entertainment value. Movies may have the power to provide necessary commentary about our lives (as they should when called for), but that doesn't mean they have to sacrifice the idea of being a movie (an entertaining distraction) in some way.
The Lost Bus, the latest offering from director Paul Greengrass, late of News of the World and Captain Phillips, chronicles the events of a 2018 massive California wildfire, collectively known as the Camp Fire, focusing on the actions of one bus driver who risked his life to save over 20 school children from the event. While his actions deserve all the appreciation and adulation possible, we can now add "should have hired a different director for his movie" to the list.
The story follows a down-on-his-luck bus driver named Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey), who is struggling to restart his life and his relationship with his son after the loss of his own father. As his morning progresses at a typical pace, it hits an abrupt halt when a giant wildfire, caused by faulty electrical wires combined with an arid season and some aggressive winds, threatens the entire town of Paradise, CA. In an effort to get ahead of this terrifyingly fast-moving fire, school buses are asked to head to a designated pickup point to collect 22 school children whose parents work out of town and take them to a rendezvous point outside the fire's path. Kevin happens to be the only bus close enough, and he answers the call, taking the kids and one of the teachers, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), to safety. What follows is a wild and likely accurate depiction of the tragedy, commentary on what caused it, and the heroism required to save the kids from burning alive.
In terms of compelling narrative and performances, the film delivers well enough. The lead actors do their jobs adequately, and the script provides sound emotional resonance. The MVP award goes to all of the child actors portraying the traumatized kids on the bus, all of whom demonstrated incredible conviction and prowess as performers. They faced many challenges in this film, and they all deserve medals.
With that said, I wish the film had been handled by a different director.
While Paul Greengrass has a mostly impressive resume and a firm understanding of what drives a story, his creative choices, specifically with the camera (along with the editing), continue to baffle, frustrate, and make me a little seasick. Greengrass films the majority of his movies with the same handheld, deliberately shaky, zoomed-in style of cinematography that is constantly being mistaken for intense immersion. In reality, it merely disorients the audience in an uncomfortable and unnecessarily aggressive manner. Handheld filming requires a certain level of finesse that Paul Greengrass either lacks or refuses to incorporate into his films. Not to mention handheld cinematography benefits from specific camera and lens choices that Greengrass seems deathly allergic to.
The only film of his that utilized the correct style of handheld filming was his Tom Hanks-led western, News of the World, primarily due to the weight of the chosen cameras. Whatever camera was used for The Lost Bus (IMDb lists none), it was clearly not heavy enough.
The Lost Bus is an admirable film with enough well-intentioned narrative weight and performances to justify its existence. Sadly, its choice of director causes all of that goodwill to roll off the road. If you're curious and have an Apple TV+ subscription, give it a try. Be prepared for a challenging viewing experience, not only due to the depictions of tragedy, but also because of the nauseating camera choices.
For fans of Paul Greengrass only.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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