Only the Brave

Only the Brave, the based-on-true-events story of the Stone Mountain hotshot firefighters, is a lot of things. It’s a vehicle for Josh Brolin who is at his peak as the epitome of burly, laconic, Western masculinity. It’s a chance to shift gears for director Joseph Kozinski whose previous films have been cold, cerebral, special effects-dependent sci fi movies. It’s an interesting case study in the discussion about the factuality of movies based on real life, especially those involving tragedy and death. In addition to all that, Only the Brave is a fascinating look at a very specific kind of work and it’s a really great depiction of male friendship. 

The film portrays the events leading up to and surrounding the catastrophic Yarnell Hill Fire of 2013 in Arizona. Josh Brolin plays Eric Marsh, the superintendent of the fire team, a man determined to get his municipal team certified as hotshots, firefighters trained and ready to directly engage wildfires when they arise. Brolin as Marsh leads his team with a combination of fatherly warmth and drill sergeant toughness. No municipal firefighting team had ever been certified as hotshots before, and Marsh was determined to make his the first.

Miles Teller plays Brendan “Donut” McDonough, an addict screw-up with nothing going in his life until he accidentally gets a girl pregnant and suddenly wants to make something of himself. Marsh hires McDonough, giving him a chance to become more than burnout and to provide for his new baby daughter.

The film follows the two men and the other would-be hotshots through their training and experiences in the field, and as spectators, we get a glimpse into the tools, strategies, and terminology of wildland firefighters. It’s fascinating to watch how the men predict the movements of a wildfire spanning thousands of acres using maps, basic weather equipment, and know-how. The script doesn’t dumb down or soft pedal any of the specifics of firefighting science, and the actors convincingly portray themselves as experts. It’s a peek into an interesting, very specific world that’s rarely seen. 

 One of the best parts of the whole film is the camaraderie between the firefighters. Teller’s character Donut comes to the team as a complete outside and gets treated as such, but over time, he wins their respect and friendship. The loving, profane affection between the men is both hilarious and touching. When Chris MacKenzie, one of the other firefighters, breaks up with his girlfriend and moves out, Donut offers his spare room to him even though he was the hotshot initially most opposed to him joining the team. The two men become best friends, and the sequence featuring the two of them watching Donut’s baby daughter when she has a fever is a comedy highlight. Seeing two fearless firefighters lose their junk when dealing with a rectal thermometer had the entire theater laughing.

Joseph Kozinski’s last two films, Tron: Legacy and the Tom Cruise vehicle, Oblivion, were both visually impressive but emotionally cold. With Only the Brave, he mostly leaves the visual pyrotechnics behind and instead embraces the warm, human performances of his actors and the emotions of the story he’s telling. Kozinski needs to cool it with the extreme high angle shots; there had to be close to twenty throughout the film, but that repetitious visual tic aside, he acquits himself well here.

The thing I appreciated most about Only the Brave is how effectively it managed the line between sentiment and sentimentality. The film rarely, if ever, crosses over into schmaltz and the characters feel real and human and not like saints, icons, or sacrificial lambs. The film doesn’t emotionally manipulate its audience or insult viewers’ intelligence. It simply tells its story and lets the script, performances, direction, and editing do their work. The film is moving, and it never has to resort to cheap tricks in order to have emotional impact. After a summer of wildfires and a multitude of other natural disasters, Only the Brave is a film that will increase your appreciation for and understanding of the people who run toward the trouble instead of away from it.