Teddy and the Mountain

Teddy and the Mountain is an independent rom-com exploring the lives of widower Teddy (David Mason) and Rose (Linda Dootson). They both join a walking club, facing challenges, and Teddy sets out to climb a mountain alone. As the film explores their touching journey of romance and laughter despite their life’s difficulties, they both face challenges. However, a hidden truth looms over Teddy as he grapples with an illness and a friend's death that threatens their relationship.

One of the most endearing qualities of the piece is the independent funding and production value, given its budget constraints. It’s an impressive feat to behold, giving the film a homemade approach with its sense of community and down-to-earth cast of characters. While the piece may suffer from inadequate camerawork, primarily consisting of wides and extreme close-ups of the actors accompanied by infrequent drone photography, the filmmakers clearly have their heart in the right place. Despite the flaws in the camerawork, the black and white photography in the flashback sequences is admittedly effective. The film almost has a ‘TV movie’ approach due to its episodic nature in the edit, with jarring smash cuts throughout. Another bizarre choice formally is the flat colour grade, which gives the texture of specific scenes a lack of visual flair. However, Daniella Nassar’s musical score is whimsical and, overall, an engaging aspect in the technical department.

The performances are serviceable across the board, in particular, Linda Dootson’s portrayal of Rose. She conveys a profound level of nuance and comedic flair in her line delivery and plays off the other actors incredibly well. On the other hand, David Mason, in his portrayal of Teddy, can at times poorly deliver crucial pieces of dialogue in some of the most pivotal moments of the film, which may leave a sour taste in viewers’ mouths. Fortunately, the supporting players are chemistry-laden and have relatable character traits, which grant the film its light-hearted tone. Due to many of the comedic aspects consisting of British humour with its incredibly deadpan and dry delivery from the actors, audiences outside of the UK may find it difficult to connect to many of the gags. Perhaps the biggest issue of the film is the over-convoluted nature of the characters which are introduced, and this can become jarring to digest at times. Thankfully, Stanley Roubaix’s screenplay fleshes out many of the characters with enough development to ensure the viewer genuinely cares for each of them.

Unfortunately, towards the third act, the narrative becomes unfocused due to its repetitive nature and the plethora of characters the script is juggling. The narrative structure is too aimless and meandering that it almost feels like a chore to sit through at times. The conclusion to the narrative sadly falters by wrapping up abruptly, and the one-note delivery from David Mason can detract from the emotional stakes. However, the emotionally resonant themes of grief and loss are impactful and may stick with the viewer long after the credits roll.

Teddy and the Mountain is an effective rom-com exploring the lives of two lost souls attempting to find closure in their respective hurdles of grief. Boasting some solid independent production value and impactful comedic gags, this is a feel-good piece of filmmaking which will leave the viewer with a sense of ambition in never giving up on their aspirations, just like Teddy.