By Susan Granger
FACT: The 2018 Butte County Camp Fire in Northern California was one of the worst in that state’s history, burning more than 150,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills and killing 85 people. It started when a metal hook on an old Pacific Gas & Electric high-voltage transmission tower broke, igniting the conflagration.
FICTION: Based on journalist Lizzie Johnson’s book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire,” co-writers Paul Greengrass & Brad Inglesby interweave a real school bus driver’s dilemma into a suspense-filled thriller.
In “The Lost Bus,”Kevin McKay (Matthew McConaughey) is a down-on-his-luck divorced dad, living with his ailing mother (Kay McCabe McConaughey, Matthew’s real-life mom), resentful teenager (Levi McConaughey, Matthew’s real-life son) and dying dog.
According to his dispatcher boss (Ashlie Atkinson), Kevin is a relatively new hire, but his is the only empty school bus available to pick up 22 elementary school kids stranded by the wildfire and deliver them to a safe point for parental pick-up.
The children are accompanied by their compassionate teacher, Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), who keeps them as calm and orderly as possible under the circumstances.
As director, Paul Greengrass (“United 93”) knows exactly how to ramp up tension with handheld cameras and rapid cutting, then defuse it – if only momentarily – before ramping it up again – while Kevin copes with backed-up traffic as panicked evacuees overflow the only available roads, along with engine trouble, swirling ash and the deadly, rapidly spreading blaze.
Meanwhile, Mary must deal with the increasingly overheated, under-hydrated youngsters. And, as a somewhat unnecessary distraction, Kevin’s son falls ill, precipitating an accusatory call from his ex-wife which ignites Kevin’s memories of his own estranged, recently deceased father.
Kudos to cinematographer Pål Ulvik Rokseth and the editing team, led by William Goldenberg, who cut back and forth between Kevin’s bus and Cal Fire’s beleaguered Battalion Chief (Yul Vazquez).
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Lost Bus” is an explosive, survivalist 7 – streaming on Apple TV+.
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Susan Granger
Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in Journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has appeared on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie critic for many years. Read all her reviews at susangranger.com.
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