Movie review
October 5, 2017 · 109 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Mountain Between Us.
Woke representation / casting
Interracial leads in a contemporary story with no narrative focus on race, no marketing push for diversity, and casting that fits the modern premise without mismatch or signaling.
Woke political dialogue
No political speeches, activist lines, institutional critiques, or social-justice conversations appear in the film.
Identity-driven story themes
The narrative centers on survival, mutual dependence, and heterosexual romance; no race, gender-identity, sexuality, or systemic-identity plotlines or messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
No portrayals of toxic masculinity, traditional roles as flawed, anti-conservative family messaging, or attacks on Western norms; characters function as capable professionals.
Review
The Mountain Between Us (2017) is a survival drama in which neurosurgeon Ben Bass (Idris Elba) and photojournalist Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) survive a small-plane crash in the remote High Uintas Wilderness and must trek hundreds of miles through snow and injury to reach help. The story centers on their growing reliance on each other, personal resilience, and a developing romance while they fight extreme cold and isolation. The film stays tightly focused on universal human endurance and connection with no identity politics, political messaging, diversity emphasis, or social-justice framing visible to viewers.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; minor name and trait adjustments from the novel exist but show no evidence of ideological, race-based, or identity-driven reinterpretation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No documented anti-woke or right-leaning complaints accusing the film of pushing woke, DEI, or identity-politics content.
Creator track record context
Mix of mostly neutral commercial producers and writers with one director whose prior films center on Palestinian political and identity themes; overall moderate and not strongly reflected in this neutral survival story.
Production
