Tenzing Norgay was one of the first two people who climbed to the top of Mount Everest, which is something I have never done, and you have probably never done either. In fact, Norgay repeatedly scaled the world’s tallest mountain for nearly two decades, assisting multiple international expeditions before finally reaching the summit on May 29, 1953. Meanwhile, I can barely work up the nerve to go to the post office at lunch time, when the line is probably long.
Jennifer Peedom’s new biopic, “Tenzing,” tells the life story of the historic mountaineer. It is a testament to Norgay’s perseverance and courage. As an added bonus, it finally talked me into going to that post office, which is a good thing, because I really needed the stamps.
I jest, but when you say a film like “Tenzing” is inspiring, it’s worth keeping track of what it actually inspires you to do. There may be people in the audience who watch “Tenzing” and decide they, too, want to climb Mount Everest – just like some people watched “The Karate Kid” and decided to learn martial arts, or watched “Jurassic Park” and became paleontologists. But a good film won’t necessarily change your life and send you on a whole new path. A film like “Tenzing” can also push us to pursue our existing goals a little harder, and not let life’s many discouragements get in our way. That has value too.
“Tenzing” stars Genden Phuntsok (“Snow Leopard”) as Norgay, a good-natured fellow who overcomes adversity every day of his life. His family loses everything. He’s raised in a community that treats him like an outsider, and calls him foolish for daring to dream. His early attempts to work as a Sherpa are foiled by the classic employment Catch-22, where you can’t get work without experience but you can’t get experience without work. Even after he finally achieves his goals and becomes a full-fledged mountaineer, Norgay still endures condescending racism from one colonialist after another.
Norgay gradually develops a reputation as one of the best mountain climbers in the world, so when the British go on an expedition in 1953 they insist on hiring him. When he refuses to join unless they make him a full mountaineer, not an assistant, the expedition leader John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) politely reminds him racism is still a thing. So Norgay politely puts his foot down until Hunt politely agrees, although he’s still a jerk to the rest of the Sherpas and sometimes forgets Norgay is essentially a full partner.
Over the course of the climb Norgay bonds with a New Zealand mountaineer named Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), and let’s be honest, he’s the guy who climbed Mount Everest most Americans know by name. To the film’s credit, “Tenzing” never falls into the insulting trap of treating its ostensible, non-white protagonist as a supporting character in his own story, while placing the white guy front and center. (I’m looking at you, “Green Book.”) Hiddleston looks comfortable playing second fiddle to Phuntsok, a gregarious and charming performer who capably carries Jennifer Peedom’s film by his lonesome. The two actors are enjoyable together and the screenplay, by Luke Davies (“Lion”), never oversells their relationship. Norgay and Hillary don’t become inseparable soulmates. They bond while tackling one of the world’s most difficult challenges and develop a mutual respect for each other’s abilities.
“Tenzing” takes liberties with the subject’s life story. Then again, good luck finding a biopic that doesn’t. It’s an effective, streamlined narrative with all the positive lessons and fist-pumping moments you’d normally expect from a feel-good Disney sports drama. (Or at least, the kind you’d expect if Disney made those anymore; Apple seems happy to pick up their slack.) It’s intense enough to appeal to all audiences but not so harrowing that it’s inappropriate for children. It’s a film that’s made for everyone, which means smoothing out a lot of history’s rough edges, which is worth criticizing in general, but isn’t particularly worrisome in “Tenzing,” specifically.
Whether you think the film’s formulaic underdog story is timeless or just clichéd, you have to give Peedom’s film credit: It’s a handsome travelogue. Stefan Duscio (“The Invisible Man”) keeps the environments wide and sharp. If you sit close enough to the air conditioner it doesn’t quite feel like you’re there with them, that’s going too far, but it does sort of feel like you’re watching an immersive mountaineering experience at an amusement park. It’s a nice sensation, and it wouldn’t be possible if “Tenzing” didn’t pull its own weight and envelop you in its vistas.
It makes for a satisfying biopic about one of the 20th’s century’s most incredible people, told with familiar dramatic beats and an unapologetic interest in pleasing a crowd. It’s no substitute for a good — and presumably more accurate — book about the same subject, but it’s a lovely ode to an inspirational figure whose story not only deserves to be told, but deserves to be told with “Tenzing’s” old-fashioned, glossy reverence.
“Tenzing” premieres in select theaters Friday and begins stream globally on Apple TV on Oct. 16.
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