Film Analysis: Vertical Limit

In the movie clip called Vertical Limit a father named Royce and his two children Peter and Annie went rock climbing. This outdoor event turned out to be a tragedy when Royce, Peter and Annie were dragged down the cliff. The weight was too much that Royce pressured Peter to take out the knife and cut the rope above him. Annie was begging in tears to not cut the rope. Peter had to make a choice in matter of seconds. This was a devastating decision for Peter to make who was stuck in the middle of Annie and Royce. As a family it is best to not cut the rope and stick together, then living with shame for a family member's death. Some individuals may prefer not to cut the rope to avoid feeling guilty. Jeannette supports not cutting the rope. Like Jeanette said, “I would not cut the rope. There are other ways to survive. What if there is another alternative?” Malea agrees with Jeanette. Malea stated “I would rather die than live with such remorse of carrying a dead body over my

Tess shares Michael's idea and says “If my father's last wish is to cut the rope, I would do it to honor him.” Perhaps this is the same thing that went through Peter’s head. However, Royce was not being selfish and put his children over him. Lauran also said, “I would cut the rope above Peter to discard the pressure away”. This way of cutting the rope is an easy way to resolve such problem. In the movie clip, Peter seemed to have thought it through within seconds. So Peter cut the rope and killed Royce. During that moment, Peter was perhaps thinking about his life and thought it was the best decision to cut the rope. Peter was granting Royce’s last choice, in saving Annie and