The Climb Movie Storyline. Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond – until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently uproarious film about the boundaries (or lack thereof) in all close friendships.
The Climb is a 2019 American comedy-drama film written, produced by and starring Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin. Covino also directs, while Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, and Judith Godrèche also star. Based on Covino and Marvin’s short film of the same name, the plot follows two friends and looks into their lives over several years.
The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section on May 17, 2019. It was released on November 13, 2020, by Sony Pictures Classics, and received positive reviews from critics.
Chapters
The film is divided into seven chapters.
1. I’m Sorry
Best friends Mike and Kyle are biking together when Mike breaks the news to Kyle that he’s currently sleeping with his fiancé. In the ensuing argument, Mike has a moment of road rage with a motorist that culminates into Mike getting assaulted after chasing the motorist down the road. At the hospital, where Mike is recovering from minor head wounds, Kyle’s fiancé, Ava, visits Mike and is confronted by Kyle over her affair. After she tells him that she still loves him, he then asks if she still wants to get married.
2. Let Go
Ava goes on to marry Mike instead, but she unexpectedly dies shortly after. A visibly distraught Mike causes a scene at her funeral which is diffused by Kyle, who came to pay his respects. Mike admits to Kyle that what he did was wrong and that he’s a terrible friend. Though Kyle is still angry at Mike, he still consoles him over his loss.
3. Thanks
Sometime later, Kyle, now in better physical shape, is working as a commercial-jingle writer and is dating his former high-school girlfriend, Marissa, with whom he is celebrating Thanksgiving with his family. Though his overprotective, overbearing mother is disapproving of the relationship, she is nonetheless happy for him when he announces his engagement with her. She then reveals to Kyle that she invited Mike to celebrate Christmas with them, noting his having no family of his own to celebrate with.
On Christmas night, a now overweight, alcoholic Mike arrives at Kyle’s family’s home. Finding his way into the garage, he comes across some old pictures of himself and his old helmet from when he played football in high school. Kyle’s mother confronts Mike and tells him that he needs to make amends with Kyle for his selfish actions and stop feeling sorry for himself over how he hurt him. Mike then stumbles into the living room where he passes out drunk.
4. It’s Broken
Seeing Mike’s worsened state, Kyle invites him to join him and Marissa on their vacation to a ski resort over New Years. After breaking his arm on a difficult slope, Mike is given permission by Kyle to stay with them for the night, the two of them getting drunk together and catching up on their pasts. A frustrated Marissa tells Kyle that Mike is a negative influence on his life and that he needs to cut him out from it. When Marissa goes to bed early, Kyle joins her in the hopes of having sex, but he quickly passes out before she returns from the bathroom. She then goes down to confront Mike about his behavior, and he attempts to kiss her. Though disgusted, she physically pressures him into following through with his advances, convinced that it will finally convince Kyle to break off their friendship for good.
5. Stop It
Mike and Marissa’s brother Ronnie plan a surprise ice-fishing bachelor party for Kyle before his impending wedding with Marissa. When Kyle momentarily steps away from the party, Mike approaches him and claims that he slept with Marissa. Kyle, angered once again, surprises Mike by saying that he no longer cares and simply wants to spend his life with someone who cares for him. Mike responds that Marissa doesn’t actually care for Kyle as he is and wants to turn him into something she wants him to be, suggesting that he leaves her. At some point, Kyle breaks through a thin patch of ice in the frozen lake, though Mike manages to pull him out.
6. Grow Up
Kyle has since cut all ties with Mike, who is lonelier than ever. On the day of Kyle and Marissa’s wedding, Mike crashes the ceremony and objects to their union, instigating a small brawl in the church between him and members of both Kyle and Marissa’s families. During the confrontation, Marissa loudly declares that she’s pregnant and that she’s adamant about getting married. Upon learning this, the priest refuses to wed them over concerns that their child is pressuring them into a potentially doomed marriage and advises them to wait until after the child is born.
7. Fine
About a year later, Mike is now working at a bicycle shop/café, where a now-married Kyle and Marissa visit him with their newly born son Otis, the former of whom still misses Mike.
Several years later, Kyle and Marissa have decided to divorce. Kyle lives close to Marissa to stay in touch with their son and maintains his friendship with Mike, whom Otis affectionately refers to as his “uncle.” The three go on a bike ride together and Mike encourages Otis to remove his training wheels. He initially falls, but eventually rides, to Mike and Kyle’s encouragement.
The Climb (2020)
Directed by: Michael Angelo Covino
Starring: Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, George Wendt, Judith Godrèche, Sergei Pobedinski, Valeriy Zhmud, Courtney Gonzalez, Alyssa Maria App, Monica Ayres
Screenplay by: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Zach Kuperstein
Film Editing by: Sara Shaw
Costume Design by: Callan Stokes
Set Decoration by: Katie Lobel
Art Direction by: Kaili Corcoran, Leo Swartz
Music by: Jon Natchez, Martin Mabz, Cédric Cartaut
MPAA Rating: R for language, sexual content, some nudity and brief drug use.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: May 17, 2019 (Cannes), November 13, 2020 (United States)
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