Gorilles dans la brume

Biopic seems to be the go-to description for "Gorillas in the Mist", but that's a misconception. It only focuses on Fossey's time in the mountains of Africa, and there's an awful lot of material that's glossed over (character motivations, primarily). It's a frustrating script in that respect.

But the movie succeeds where it has to, mainly in the scenes with Sigourney Weaver (superb in the role) spending time with the gorillas and earning their trust. Weave exudes tremendous heart, and despite the movie's problems, it can be extremely touching.

It's a testament to her talent.

7/10

Sigourney Weaver in her "role of a lifetime" as Dianne Fosse, savior of the Mountain Gorilla. Fosse, who with a background in physical therapy, left her home, life and fiancee to perform a census of mountain gorillas for The Leakey Foundation, turned her life into a crusade to both alter mankind's perception of the gorilla and save the species from mankind (in the form of poachers) as well. This is not a simple nice lady learns to cohabitate with funny apes, this is heart touching, powerful drama that shows Fosse's relentless courage in the face of bureaucracy, brutality, and superstition. I wished I believed in anything that much that I would risk my life for it.

Who was Dian Fossey? Enviromental enthusiast? Insane eco-warrior? Or both?

Gorillas In The Mist is the story of this extraordinary woman whose work with Mountain Gorillas in Congo, and subsequently Rwanda, quite possibly saved these beautiful creatures from extinction. Her hard work and determination in studying these wonderful animals led to an amazing living arrangement with them.

How simply amazing must it be to touch, play and hold hands with a silverback Gorilla in the wilds of Africa? How would it feel to find that same silverback with his head, hands and feet cut off by poachers? To be frank, these gorillas were Dian Fossey's children - each had a name, each had their own unique trait - so it is hardly surprising that she became a little possessive and started treating the animals as her own. The horrors that she experienced on those mountains would send anyone mad.

Sigourney Weaver is simply superb as Fossey, portraying her hard work and gradual decline into insanity with that touch that only a few actresses possess. Her chemistry with co-star Bryan Brown adds to the feel of the film and the fact that she was brave enough to go anywhere near real gorillas is fascinating. To be fair, the two hours do drag a little, but Weaver is talented enough to carry the film through it.

Weaver once said "I only get the parts that Meryl [Streep] passes up" but to be honest, I couldn't imagine this brilliant woman being played by anyone else but Sigourney.

Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) brow beats Dr. Louis Leakey into letting go into the jungle to research mountain gorillas. She's joined by a local guide Sembagare and a National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell (Bryan Brown).

It's a well biopic from director Michael Apted of an amazing woman and an amazing life. The performances are first class. Sigourney Weaver is able to project a certain self confidence in the character.

The other thing I want to mention is the realism of the gorilla suits. It is hard to tell the difference between the real thing and the suits. It's of the utmost importance because we wouldn't want to be hampered by 'Planet of Apes' retreads.

Based on Dian Fossey's own autobiography, this true life story is inspiring and has helped these amazing animals in many ways by waking us up to their plight. Originally Dian herself was helping to make the film, until she was murdered and the production team had to go back and start it all over again several years later in 1988.

I am aware she did complete a degree when she returned to the USA in 1980 and wrote her book, which was published in 1983, and then revised in 1985. She returned to Africa in to help the gorillas and was murdered in 1984/1985 I believe near Christmas.

She may have done things that weren't ethical according to some, though her plight to save the gorilla came first.

This movie does give a fairly accurate but slightly toned down version of the events, which took place, though there were a few changes in details. It would be impossible to fit 13 years of events into just over one and a half hours of footage. So I think Hollywood did a good job.

The main alterations, leaving out some of the details of horrific animal abuse that would have otherwise pushed the rating up to an R16 and probably left any animal lover in tears. The details they left out as well may have made the film a little to shocking for the chief censors.

The special effects makeup, I believe done by Rick Baker, and real gorilla footage is seamless, making it hard to tell which parts were real gorillas and which are very well created costumes.

After purchasing the DVD I now realize they had Dian Fossey's original tracker with them to help with the film.

All up I think this film gives us just enough drama, action and thrills to make it a hit. I think Sigorney Weaver should have won an academy award for this especially considering how brave she was to film on location with real gorilla right next to her.

This movie has inspired myself to change my career path and am also reading the book, which I would recommend for anyone who wants to see how much more horrific the events were in reality.

This movie is a must see, who knows it may even change your life.