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| Images courtesy of Abramorama |
Grand Rapids, Michigan born meteorologist and storm chaser
Reed Timmer is perhaps America’s most prominent and well-known tornado chaser. A passionate self-taught and driven scientist
who has spent decades if not his entire life’s work towards filming and documenting
tornadoes closer than ever before, Reed’s vocation ran even deeper following
the death of his mentor Tim Samaras in the 2013 El Reno Tornado as well as his
chase partner Joel Taylor. In the midst
of grappling with two personal tragedies as well as bearing witness to all
manner of natural earthly destructive forces in motion, Reed’s passion however
seems stronger than ever and together with his eccentric but dedicated crew of
Connor, Mike, Edgar and ‘Local Man’ they continue to try and wrangle the
untamable beast of inclement weather. Though
holding a Ph.D in meteorology, the controversial methods of trying to intercept
and document a storm run counter to the scientific community’s position on
storm chasing.
The saga of Twister playing out in real life with
hi-tech 4K drone cameras capturing the beautiful but terrifying destructive power
of the tornado utilizing a 360-degree direct cinema process before being graded
in Dolby Vision, what ultimately became a reunion for the film’s subject Reed
Timmer and its director and longtime collaborator Ken Cole unfolds with some of
the best footage ever captured of a cyclone in motion. Cole first filmed Reed in action in 2003 for
the PBS documentary Tornado Glory and eventually joined the show Tornado
Chasers and documented the tragic demise of Tim Samaras. Though the sources throughout intersperse
between old videotape and newly shot footage as it interviews family and
friends who remark on the profound toll storm chasing has taken on Reed’s
outlook on life, the footage of the tornadoes themselves mixed in immersive
Dolby Atmos sound at StudioPost in Universal Studios bring viewers as close to actually
audiovisually experiencing a tornado as the cinematic medium has ever
attempted.
At once a nature documentary film in league with National Geographic,
a triumph of independent filmmaking and something of an affecting horror/thriller
that gets downright frightening at times and a recognition of the human toll
felt by a devastating natural event, Never Stop Chasing wont necessarily
recruit new storm chasing proteges but it will give viewers perhaps a little
bit more respect for what these guys do.
Though some are quick to say they’re not contributing anything, the film
catches more than a few instances of Reed and the chasers intervening to help
potentially injured fellow chasers and near the end of the film the emotional
grief felt by some of Reed’s crew is very real and raw. A scene where a chaser describes a child
dying while holding his hand cuts right through anyone who doesn’t take what
they do seriously. Mostly for Reed Timmer
himself, his life’s journey evolving from youthful daredevil to mature
contemplative adult wrestling with very real losses connected to his work, it
washes away any preconceptions outsiders may have for the man or his vocation.
An attempt to understand Reed Timmer’s undaunted passion for
trying to wrangle the funneled beast and perhaps come up with a better stronger
warning system that will help save lives in the face of deadly weather, Never
Stop Chasing opens theatrically throughout the US in limited release with
some states (including Michigan) only booking as many as three theaters which
makes it something to travel for. Well
worth the extra miles to see maybe the greatest tornado documentary film the
silver screen has ever seen with incredible footage graded and mixed to
accurately convey what it must look, sound and feel like to be blasted by
hundred mile an hour winds, the saga ultimately is anchored by the intensely
committed drive of Reed Timmer. For all
the times his expensive drone cameras careen close to debris and high winds
capturing windmills being torn apart like paper, Reed’s personality brings us
back down to Earth and maybe leaves viewers and skeptics of storm chasing with
a bit more knowledge of what continues to draw the curious human to the edge of
the world’s untamable powers.
--Andrew Kotwicki
