“The Mountain Between Us” has all the basics of a Hollywood romance story. The hero and heroine meet ‘cute’ while Kate Winslet and Idris Elba have the chemistry that couple needs. The photography by Mandy Walker of the British Columbia mountains is a standout while Dog, played by two dogs, almost steals the picture from the co-stars.

I am a sucker for a love story but when it fails to move you the blame squarely is in the hands of the screenwriters and in this case they are Chris Weitz and J. Mills Goodloe and the director Hany Abu-Assad. While these three throw in a load of calculated missteps and things just seem to happen at the opportune time they are saved by the stars---and the dog.

Kate Winslet and Idris Elba make the characters rise above the clichés and, almost, make the movie worth seeing even if they, and they alone, make the lovers believable with both having charm to spare.

“The Mountain Between Us” is a basic love story with a twist but even at 105 minutes seems a bit too long and with another cast would have been a complete waste.

Movie trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jyzGKXBOxA