The Mountain Between Us
Stranded on a mountain after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must work together to endure the extreme elements of the remote, snow-covered terrain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other to survive and discovering their inner strength.
Working with a mid-range budget of $35.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $62.8M in global revenue (+80% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
The Mountain Between Us (2017) exhibits meticulously timed narrative design, characteristic of Hany Abu-Assad's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 49 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.3, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Alex Martin rushes through an Idaho airport desperate to get home for her wedding tomorrow. Ben Bass, a neurosurgeon, urgently needs to reach his patient in Baltimore. Both are strangers living separate, controlled lives with clear destinations.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Walter suffers a fatal stroke mid-flight. The plane crashes into a remote, snow-covered mountain peak in the High Uintas Wilderness. The pilot is dead, Alex has a severe leg injury, and they are hundreds of miles from civilization with no one knowing their location.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Ben and Alex make the active choice to leave the wreckage and trek through the wilderness together. They abandon the safety of shelter and known location for the dangerous unknown, committing to survival as a team., moving from reaction to action.
At 54 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Alex falls through ice into freezing water. Ben desperately pulls her out and performs CPR, bringing her back from near-death. False defeat: the stakes escalate dramatically. Ben realizes how much she means to him, and their bond deepens, but survival becomes more precarious., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 80 minutes (73% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Ben leaves Alex at the cabin to seek help alone, promising to return. Alex, abandoned and injured, believes she will die alone on the mountain. The dog stays with her as she drifts into hypothermic semi-consciousness. "Whiff of death": she nearly gives up entirely., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Ben reaches a road and flags down a truck. Rescuers mobilize. Alex, hearing the helicopter, finds the strength to signal from the cabin. The synthesis moment: Ben's risk-taking (learned from Alex) and Alex's trust in Ben converge. They have both transformed., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Mountain Between Us's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping The Mountain Between Us against these established plot points, we can identify how Hany Abu-Assad utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Mountain Between Us within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Alex Martin rushes through an Idaho airport desperate to get home for her wedding tomorrow. Ben Bass, a neurosurgeon, urgently needs to reach his patient in Baltimore. Both are strangers living separate, controlled lives with clear destinations.
Theme
Walter, the charter pilot, casually mentions: "Sometimes you gotta take a risk to get what you want." This foreshadows the film's exploration of control, risk, and human connection versus isolation.
Worldbuilding
Setup establishes Alex as a photojournalist engaged to Mark, and Ben as a dedicated surgeon whose life revolves around his work. Both are self-sufficient individuals who avoid vulnerability. Their decision to share Walter's small charter plane to bypass weather delays sets the world in motion.
Disruption
Walter suffers a fatal stroke mid-flight. The plane crashes into a remote, snow-covered mountain peak in the High Uintas Wilderness. The pilot is dead, Alex has a severe leg injury, and they are hundreds of miles from civilization with no one knowing their location.
Resistance
Ben and Alex debate whether to stay with the wreckage or trek out. Ben (the cautious doctor) argues for staying and waiting for rescue. Alex (the risk-taker) wants to move. They treat injuries, ration supplies, and realize no rescue is coming because the flight was off-the-books.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Ben and Alex make the active choice to leave the wreckage and trek through the wilderness together. They abandon the safety of shelter and known location for the dangerous unknown, committing to survival as a team.
Mirror World
As they trek together, Alex and Ben begin to reveal vulnerabilities. Walter's dog becomes a companion binding them together. Their forced partnership introduces the B-story: two isolated people learning to depend on each other, contrasting their controlled, independent former lives.
Premise
The survival journey delivers the promise of the premise: man vs. nature, intimate two-hander character exploration. They navigate frozen lakes, scale cliffs, share rations, and gradually open up emotionally. Small moments of connection emerge—sharing stories, protecting each other, learning trust.
Midpoint
Alex falls through ice into freezing water. Ben desperately pulls her out and performs CPR, bringing her back from near-death. False defeat: the stakes escalate dramatically. Ben realizes how much she means to him, and their bond deepens, but survival becomes more precarious.
Opposition
The journey becomes increasingly brutal. Exhaustion, hunger, and Alex's worsening leg injury close in. They find a cabin and share an intimate night together, consummating their emotional connection. But morning brings reality: they must keep moving, and rescue still seems impossible. Internal conflict rises as feelings complicate survival.
Collapse
Ben leaves Alex at the cabin to seek help alone, promising to return. Alex, abandoned and injured, believes she will die alone on the mountain. The dog stays with her as she drifts into hypothermic semi-consciousness. "Whiff of death": she nearly gives up entirely.
Crisis
Alex hallucinates in the cabin, processing her near-death experience and the realization that she has fallen in love with Ben. She confronts the emotional truth that survival isn't just physical—it's about connection. Ben pushes through the wilderness, driven by determination to save her.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Ben reaches a road and flags down a truck. Rescuers mobilize. Alex, hearing the helicopter, finds the strength to signal from the cabin. The synthesis moment: Ben's risk-taking (learned from Alex) and Alex's trust in Ben converge. They have both transformed.
Synthesis
Alex and Ben are rescued and hospitalized. They return to their old lives—Alex to her fiancé Mark, Ben to his surgical practice. But the mountain changed them. The finale explores whether they can integrate their transformed selves into the world they left, or if they belong together.
Transformation
Alex appears at Ben's door with the dog. No words needed. She has chosen risk, vulnerability, and love over safety and obligation. Ben opens the door fully, welcoming her in. The closing image mirrors the opening—but now they choose connection over isolation, transformed by their shared survival.