The Tunnel carefully adheres to the standard disaster movie narrative, introducing us to various characters in its opening scenes as they head toward a festive disaster.
It should be the happiest time of the year as a small Norwegian town prepares for Christmas. However, when disaster strikes in a mountain tunnel, festivities are put on hold in Pål Øie’s polished disaster film, The Tunnel.
The setting is one of the 1,100 mountain tunnels crossing Norway. Christmas celebrations are well underway as we meet Stein (Thornjørn Harr), a tough firefighter and tunnel maintenance man who is recently widowed. Stein’s teenage daughter, Elise (Ylva Fuglerud), is struggling to come to terms with her dad’s new girlfriend, Ingrid (Lisa Carlehad), but as a tanker crashes at the centre of a tunnel, father and daughter will be brought together in the face of disaster.
The Tunnel carefully adheres to the standard disaster movie narrative, introducing us to various characters in its opening scenes as they head toward a festive disaster. It is within this slow march toward the catastrophe that The Tunnel finds its feet, with each character allowed space to define their role in the oncoming terror. Despite a strong buildup, something remains missing, and the lead characters often lack the depth to hold our attention and sustain our emotional connection.
Despite this flaw, when we reach the point of no return, cinematography, pacing, and performance step up to the mark, reflecting the horror of the unfolding events. Here, The Tunnel plays with a sense of claustrophobia as smoke and fire billow down its carved walls, engulfing cars, trucks, and vans.
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