Get on the bus, and watch McConaughey and Ferrera fight fire with fire.
Paul Greengrass’ latest movie “The Lost Bus” takes place during the 2018 Camp Fire, which was the most destructive wildfire in California history. It killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise and surrounding community of Butte County. And the cause was by a faulty transmission line of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) during strong winds.
It might not be an easy film for people who have experienced wildfires before, especially since the last one was devastating for both people and celebrities. But Greengrass is a filmmaker who doesn’t overexploit traumatic situations, and uses the entertainment genre to explore various themes. Think back to “United 93” or “Captain Phillips.” And now, look at “The Lost Bus,” and acknowledge how he handles this terrible fire.
The introduction is annoying as Matthew McConaughey plays a bus driver named Kevin, who needs the extra shifts to provide for his family, especially his disabled mother (Matthew’s real life mother Kay McCabe McConaughey), rebellious teenage son (Matthew’s real life son Levi), and dying dog. What isn’t a drama where the dad made bad choices and his family chewing him out?
He has a lot on his plate, but the movie picks up the pace and values his time, when the wildfires attacks his area, and he offers to drive the kids to another school, as their parents can’t get them at their regular school. America Ferrera is their teacher Mary Ludwig, who travels with Kevin and the kids.
It plays almost like an action movie when Kevin has drive through dangerous territory, which also includes looters and falling telephone lines. It’s so hot and smokey that the kids need water and makeshift breathing equipment. Kevin and Mary can both collaborate on them very well.
Never having experienced forest fires before and I hope I never have to, I can’t imagine what the victims have gone through. In this movie, the parents are scared, the kids are scared, and everyone is desperate for answers and routes out of the danger. That’s what makes “The Lost Bus” committed to the real life inferno.
The screenplay by Greengrass and Brad Ingelsby is based on Lizzie Johnson’s book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire.” Other than the introduction, “The Lost Bus” finds the time and consistency to show us a tragic fire from the point of view of the main bus driver, the kids, the teacher, and the fire officials struggling to acknowledge whether or not they had to take care of the fire sooner, before evacuating people from the danger.
McConaughey is very good at displaying the pathos in not only his character’s life but also the fears and stress of trying to escape from the fires. There are traffic jams setting his route in different directions, and it works as entertainment. And I also admire Ferrera’s emotional and consistent performance. In fact, she and McConaughey have chemistry in the face of danger, and they don’t have their talents oversold.
“The Lost Bus” is distributed on AppleTV+ with select theatrical screenings and will premiere on the streaming service October 3rd. I watched this movie on a screening link, and I still think it looks great with the fires and smoke. We don’t want it to look too realistic for the sake of our environment, as sometimes it looks CGI, while other times, it looks real. But it’s the actors who carry the film with their emotions and realism. I share my sympathy for those affected by any forest fire, and whether you watch this movie or not is up to you. But I think it’s another worthy addition to Greengrass’ filmography.
Now in Select Theaters
Streaming on AppleTV+ October 3rd
