That's what I was wondering throughout the movie about Vic, the Kevin Bacon character. What was his motivation? his ulterior motive?
I looked at the movie's premise as a sort of "survival training" for teen kids. (Whether anyone would trust their kids alone in the wilderness for weeks with a stranger is a totally different question altogether. I kept thinking of Kevin Bacon in Sleepers.)
I thought Vic's actions were fairly explainable and reasonable (under the category of tough love) until the fish trap incident. The fish trap did not utilize the skill Vic was trying to teach, but I figure if it worked, more power and kudos to the kid. Though punishing the kid (making him clean fish) for his ingenuity was unjust, I really saw the second part, the kid being left on the island overnight, as at least partially the kid's fault for being stubborn (yet another lesson to learn perhaps). Just or not, finished or not, he could have signaled to be picked up.
"Abandoning" the kids overnight in that storm (seemingly irresponsible though it may seem) may have been a tactic to demonstrate how physically dependant they still were (absence making the heart grow fonder)on Vic, or, possibly, another planned part of the training, demonstrating that they can persevere on their own. I think it's clear that he was always nearby, monitoring them, able to intervene if they were in any real danger.
Now the Devil's Tooth climb seemed like a planned side trip, one that he probably scouted and did before with other groups. Despite other comments here, it looked more like a low pitch hiking ascent or a scramble and not the type of rock-climbing mountaineering that would require special shoes, harnesses, and protection. Heck, they were all wearing huge external frame packs with ENORMOUS sleeping bags. What I wanted to say about this sequence though is that this is the point at which Vic the guide crossed the line. He should have tried other methods of encouraging him across the pendulum swing, and then, waited until the kid eventually did something to help himself (which he eventually did, alone). Leaving the kid hanging, totally unsupervised, was clearly unreasonably dangerous.
Hereafter, I think the movie took it's biggest leap. I understood that the campers were becoming disgruntled with Vic's tough leadership and loyalty was shifting to the comrade left dangling, but, come on, for them to collectively turn so violent and almost homicidal... eh... I don't know. I guess they needed to advance the plot (with the real crisis which necessitated them really growing up and taking responsibility).
Overall, I thought it was a decent movie and I enjoyed it, as I don't think enough movies are made which even attempt to use these "enjoying the outdoor" themes and settings.
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chas437
13 years ago
I went on extreme camping, rafting, climbing camps when I was like 15. They pushed you to your limits, but we never questioned authority, as we felt they had our long term best interests at heart. I remember we went without water for 3 days in a drought year: we suffered but we made it. I think those experiences prepared me for difficult turns in life, and gave me the ability to be an elite outdoor athelete that I am today.
Kevin Bacon's heart was in the right place in this film, he just had too many soft City kids.
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