GUEST COLUMN: Honoring Real-Life Heroes in "Only the Brave"

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Honoring Real-Life Heroes in Only the Brave

by Kevin Gardner

In June 2013, 19 out of 20 members of an elite crew of firefighters lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Only the Brave is a 2017 film based on a factual article about the ill-fated Granite Mountain Hotshots called No Exit, written by Sean Flynn and published in GQ Magazine. The film depicts the fire as well as the events leading up to it and the aftermath. It cost $38 million to make and only grossed $26.3 million, making it a box-office failure. However, it gained critical acclaim for the respect it paid to the real-life members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and their families.

Characters and Cast

Much of the plot centers around Brendan McDonough, played by Miles Teller, a drug addict who is inspired to turn his life around by the birth of his daughter and his desire to be part of her life. Because of his sketchy past, he has difficulty finding employment. For example, DevOps documentation is off the table for him.

McDonough applied for a position with Fire and Rescue Crew 7, later the Granite Mountain Hotshots, in his hometown of Prescott, Arizona. Ordinarily, his past would prevent him from this position as well. However, the superintendent, Eric Marsh, played by Josh Brolin, sees potential in him and hires him for the squad. This decision doesn't sit well with the entire crew.

The film has an ensemble cast, and it is remarkable in that the credits show pictures of the real-life firefighters who were part of the crew alongside the actors who played them. The film is dedicated to the memory of the victims.

Plot

A hotshot crew is a crew that is trained to work the most challenging parts of the fire and travels around to fight the largest and most dangerous wildfires. In the movie, Marsh is inspired to complete Crew 7's certification to become wildfire hotshots after being called to a fire where the hotshot crew that is already there underestimates the danger, and a nearby neighborhood is destroyed as a result. Crew 7 completes the certification and becomes the Granite Mountain Hotshots after McDonough joins. The longer and more unpredictable time commitment required of a hotshot crew puts strain on the personal relationships of both Marsh and McDonough.

The next wildfire is the Yarnell Hill Fire, 30 miles away from Prescott. Marsh has plans to start a family with his wife and help McDonough transfer to a different station within the department after dealing with this blaze. Shifts in winds cause the fire to intensify, while bungles by an air tank foil the crew's counterattack. McDonough is sent to higher ground by Marsh to act as a lookout. As the fire threatens, he is rescued by another hotshot crew. Meanwhile, the fire jumps a safe zone to which the rest of the crew had retreated and cuts off their escape route. The fire sweeps over the crew in their personal fire shelters, killing all 19 of them. Following a gathering of the family members at the middle school, McDonough suffers a psychological breakdown due to survivor's guilt. He receives comfort from Marsh's wife, Amanda. Three years later, McDonough has worked through his issues and takes his daughter to see the historic juniper tree the crew had saved from an earlier fire. It stands as a living memorial to their sacrifice.

Critical Response

Most critics reacted positively to the film, praising the strength of the cast and the seamless blending of CGI and practical effects to simulate the out-of-control wildfire. Critics appreciated the respect shown to the victims and their families in telling the story without a lot of unnecessary embellishments. There was one critic who expressed the opinion that the story should have focused more on the lives of the firefighters outside of work and the subsequent struggle for the survivors and family members to secure government benefits. However, all that might have been beyond the scope of a single movie.

Audiences did not pay much attention to Only the Brave when it was first released. However, as wildfires become larger and stronger due to climate change, it takes on greater resonance for some.