Parents' Guide to East of the Mountains

Skerritt rises to the occasion to play a man of few words contending with an internal struggle against the picturesque Washington landscape. It's shocking to realize that Ben Givens is the first leading film role for Skerritt, who's been a cinematic fixture for decades, with memorable roles in everything from M*A*S*H* to Top Gun to A River Runs Through It. Like Tom Hanks in Cast Away or Robert Redford in All Is Lost, in East of the Mountains, he's a man who embarks on a journey with an intended destination, but circumstances arise that circumvent his plans. And, as in any good movie, the point of the trip isn't the destination, it's what you learn about yourself along the way.

But is East of the Mountains a good movie? Novel adaptations often get mucked up in translating someone's inner dialogue to a cinematic experience that viewers can understand, and that challenge is in play here. Givens is stoic; he doesn't give much away in his words or his expressions. Skerritt makes the most of what he's given, but without much in the way of dialogue, there's a lot that viewers just have to figure out on their own. That subtlety may be appreciated by adults with the life experience to appreciate what Givens is feeling, but full comprehension is going to be challenging for a lot of teens. Many moviegoers will walk away feeling like East of the Mountains is kind of a nothing movie, but it has plenty to say on the issue of death and aging, and that really is something.