Infinite Storm (2022) Review

Directed by: Małgorzata Szumowska

Starring: Naomi Watts, Billy Howle, Denis O’Hare, and Parker Sawyers

Synopsis: As an experienced climber (Naomi Watts) ascends Mt. Washington, she turns back before she reaches the summit as a huge blizzard approaches. But on her way down, she encounters a lone, stranded man, and takes it upon herself to get them both down the mountain before nightfall arrives and they succumb to the storm. Based on a true story. 

Review: Naomi Watts gives her all in this story based around a climber’s will and determination to save a man who is stranded on Mt. Washington. 

Naomi Watts isn’t an actress that takes every role that comes her way, she seems to pick specific projects and if it wins, it wins and if it flops, it flops, which it rarely does. In this instant she has hit the jackpot as this story will have you gripped from the beginning. 

We instantly get the feeling of being isolated and alone. From the moment we see Naomi Watts’s character Pam Bales enter a deserted car park and leave her route details on her windshield and set off into the mountains and we only hear the sound of nature, her breathing and the gravel under her boots, the tension slowly begins to rise. 

When Pam is making her descent down the mountain she sees footprints and realises that whoever they belong to, they’re not wearing practical shoes for hiking. Pam comes across a man, who she names John [Billy Howle]. John is frozen and his toes are going black, he doesn’t cooperate at first but Pam isn’t about to leave a man behind, no matter what the cost. 

Infinite Storm will have you on the edge of your seat, this is no way an explosive movie filled with big effects and set pieces, it’s a very claustrophobic movie that deals with the willingness and strength of humans and the will to survive, even when life has thrown some unthinkable events at you. [We learn more about Pam Bales’s past and a traumatic experience she went through]. Some shots, such as seeing from Pam’s POV through goggles in a storm [minimal vision is an understatement] help build the tension and put you in Pam’s shoes. 

Infinite Storm is a harrowing story of survival and not giving up. Naomi Watts is on top form and delivers a powerful performance! Infinite Storm is very much worth the watch.