The Ice Road (2021) Movie Script
Yeah. Yeah.
Right up there. Right up in here.
Down.
Aim for the rock!
Mankins!
Yeah?
You want to tell me why
your methane sensors are off?
I don't know.
Maybe the batteries are dead.
Why don't you get us a canary?
This is no joke.
These are to alert you to
concentrations of methane.
They must stay on.
Where'd that come from?
Sounds like the open pit.
We hit a methane pocket.
That's impossible.
Everybody, out! Everybody, out!
Come on!
Go!
Go, go.
No!
Help me!
Go, go, go!
All I do is drive, drive, drive
Try to stay alive
My mind on my load
I got nothing in common With any man
Who's home every day At five
All I do is drive, drive, drive, drive, drive
What you got, Gurty?
Come on, you can say it. You can say it.
We will sort right here,
and they will save their hands right there.
The coffee saved with water for me.
For him. For them.
Is it coffee, Gurty?
This how you guys still get your kicks, huh?
Walk away, Gurty. They're idiots.
Hey...
how's it feel to be best friends with a retard?
He's my brother, Johansson.
And I told you never to call him that.
Retard.
McCann, get in here!
I know what you get,
but I talk with a lot of
hands for hands sometimes.
Gurty.
We're fired.
But tires to a point rotated go.
Let someone else rotate them. We're fired.
Pack your shit up. Skeeter too. Come on.
I don't want.
- Me never been in, and then--
- Yeah, I know, I know.
- Today we don't.
- Gurty, I don't care.
You're going in.
They're going to look after you.
We've been together a long time,
but he can't hold a job,
and I can't carry him anymore.
I don't have a lot of tire
left on my own treads.
Will this help make
him self-sufficient, Doctor?
I can't promise anything
with language cognition scores like these,
but we'll see what we can do.
Hi, John, I'm Dr. Talbot.
Pleased to meet you.
Thank you, I appreciate it,
and hope the world lasts for you.
He's saying hello.
How long to go with them?
With them for the time over.
For them. For me.
He's asking what all this entails, Doctor.
Well, just a few tests.
If he qualifies for rehabilitation,
we arrange housing.
Should take no more than an hour.
Skeeter.
You can't bring Skeeter in here.
Let them poke and prod you. It's no big deal.
I'll see you in an hour.
Hey, don't be a big baby.
Thanks, Doctor.
You're welcome.
John, the examination room is just down the hall.
Psych evaluator Hackman, dial 617.
Psych evaluator Hackman, dial 617.
No readings indicated a methane gas pocket?
So you're saying,
as general manager of this facility,
that this was out of the blue?
Completely out of the blue, sir.
We think the gas built up
behind the stoping shields
where our PDM sensors couldn't pick it up.
I'm briefing the prime minister in 20 minutes.
Listen carefully.
No one goes in any of the tunnels
until that gas is drilled and capped.
Understood, sir. Understood.
Let me ask you, how do we drill and cap
a methane pocket without a wellhead?
I'll get back to you.
Get me the air force base in Winnipeg,
Officer in charge of civilian emergencies.
Airlift a 30-ton gas wellhead? Impossible.
And there's no runway up at
Katka to land a C-130 on,
and our largest choppers are Chinooks,
which can't carry a 30-ton wellhead.
Payloads of that nature have to go by truck.
Jill, that young field officer in Winnipeg
is supposed to know everything
about ice road transports
up to the northern mines.
- You mean, Max Tully?
- Yes, him.
The prime minister will see you now.
Just a sec.
Max Tully?
Mr. Goldenrod!
What?
I'm Max Tully with Mining Safety.
Could I have a word with you?
It's about Katka Mine.
What about Katka?
This morning, Tunnel 6 collapsed.
I need an 18-foot gas wellhead,
300 feet of pipe delivered up there
in under 30 hours.
Eighteen-foot gas wellhead and 300 feet of pipe?
Goddamn, that's a hell of a lot of weight, son.
Can you make it happen?
What do I look like, God?
We're three weeks into April.
All my drivers are on their way to Hawaii,
or wherever the hell it is that
they go during the off-season.
Say, for conversation's sake,
you have replacements.
We'll say for conversation's sake
that these rigs have wings.
What have you been smoking?
March 10th, the season ended.
That's five weeks ago.
But didn't old-timers back in the '60s
drive the lake into April?
Yeah, and most of them died doing it.
So it's really that dangerous?
Yeah. It's that dangerous.
Okay, okay. It's a stupid idea.
Sorry for asking.
Hey, hey, kid. Come here.
I know all the miners up there in Katka.
I know their families.
So... it's personal with me.
If I can get drivers and a mechanic...
let's say 3:00 this afternoon,
and if you can get the provincial government
to open up the Ice Road,
two very big ifs...
we'll do it.
Thank you.
Shit.
Hi. Um...
- Excuse me.
- Yes?
I brought my brother in this morning.
Vocational rehab?
McCann, 813.
He's still being evaluated, sir.
The doctor said an hour.
It's been two and a half.
We're a little short-staffed today,
so please take a seat.
Hey! Sir?
Sir!
Get Security on 2-East, please.
Hey, bro.
What's happening?
What is all this?
Oh, jeez.
What is going on here?
Xanax and Lexapro, right?
Probably some Oxy for good measure?
You know, to take the edge off?
They're for PTSD.
I know what they're for.
Did you ask for these, Gurty?
He has insomnia, hypertension,
makes inappropriate outbursts.
Oh, kiss my Irish ass.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is real.
I can Section 502 him.
Do it.
The press'll love another story
about how the VA overprescribes opioids
to America's heroes.
You are making a grave mistake.
You try and stop us
from leaving here, so are you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Here, put this on.
It's cold.
Wait, here. Here.
Come on, your pants.
Ken-Kenworth.
More Ken.
Take us great that owned we.
We.
Sure, sure.
It would be great if we owned our own rig.
Did you win the lottery?
Did you happen to win the Pick-6
and not tell me?
This thing costs 200 grand, Gurty.
Two hundred.
Ever been to Winnipeg, Gurty?
It's just 70 miles.
Win a pig.
We might, partner.
With any luck, today, we might just win a pig.
News all day, every day.
Our top story: Twin explosions rocked
Northern Manitoba's Katka Mine this morning,
killing eight miners
and leaving 26 more unaccounted for.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Hi, I'm calling from Trapper Transpo in Winnipeg.
We're in an emergency and need drivers.
Tully, give me 50 bucks. You got 50 bucks?
Yeah, I do.
One of my drivers just became available.
- Thanks.
- Fantastic.
Wh-What's it for?
Bail.
- What?
- Told you this wasn't going to be easy.
Sunglasses and keys.
You protest and throw rocks again,
we'll arrest you again.
We're going to keep doing it
until you get off our land.
The city owns that parking lot.
I was referring to North America.
See you soon.
How's the fight for justice going?
Keep building casinos,
you'll beat the white man without a shot fired.
You heard about the cave-in up at Katka?
Yeah, it was on the TV in there.
I still haven't heard from Cody, though.
I'm worried sick.
He's on the list of those missing.
I'm putting together a little rescue mission.
Ice Road?
Yup.
I'm in.
Let's get a head count. Cody.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
I got a wife and kids, Jim.
How would I even explain this to them?
No one's going to force you to go, Dave.
I understand, it's not for everyone.
Thanks.
What do you got?
Half are retired,
half have never seen an ice road.
Next, there are two guys up from North Dakota.
Brothers.
Thank you.
Which one of you guys is Mike McCann?
I am.
You're the driver? He's the mechanic?
Yup. One of the best.
Says you had experience on the ice road
in the Northwest Territory.
That's pretty serious country.
What'd you drive?
Anything on wheels.
Says you've had 11 gigs in the last eight years,
which ain't exactly inspiring my confidence.
There some reason that you can't hold down a job?
My... my brother's a veteran.
Got injured in Iraq.
Uh, he's got this thing called aphasia,
which is--
I know what it is.
Long story short, um,
for the past eight years I've been his caretaker,
for lack of a better word, and...
- And we--
- I get it, I get it.
I ain't got time. What's his name?
Call him Gurty.
Gurty. Hey.
Gurty, Jim Goldenrod.
Grab your tool set, follow me.
Right here.
I want you to pull the rocker arm shaft.
I'm going to time you.
Say when.
Go.
Sweet Jesus.
Okay, Tully...
send everybody else home and call Katka.
I got my crew.
Where's Tantoo?
She's re-parking somebody else's rig.
She seems a little young.
- I'll have the contracts drawn up.
- Thank you.
Enough.
Anyone not out by now isn't coming out.
You guys hearing that?
What is that?
That sounds like tap code.
You men, give us a hand.
Somebody had to have been in the Army,
Navy, Cub Scouts.
What are they saying, Cody?
How many alive?
Look, if you do hear something,
you call me, all right?
Yes, sir.
Uh...
26...
alive.
Fred, listen to me. Listen to me.
You tell them we're going to cap that methane
with a wellhead, all right?
And then we're going to blast.
You tell them those wellheads
are coming ASAP, all right?
- Okay.
- Okay.
Wellheads arrive ASAP.
What do they mean, ASAP?
Six hours?
Twelve hours?
What if it's 30?
Then we're dead.
The 26 includes Lampard.
Yup.
Mankins?
He's alive.
So the question is time.
I mean, no one's ever lasted
over 30 hours under permafrost.
Well, the government's got that Ice Road open.
Safety supervisor guy,
he's even managed to secure transpo.
Jim Goldenrod.
If Jim Goldenrod believes 25-ton wellheads
can roll across a frozen lake in April,
I suppose we should believe it too.
All right. These wellheads are beasts.
Eighteen feet long, 25 ton heavy.
We got three rigs, all identically equipped
so that we can achieve tactical redundancy.
We're taking every chance
to save those miners' lives.
Tactical re-what-ancy?
Redundancy.
Each rig doesn't need the others
to complete the mission.
Gold star to the man from North Dakota.
One, two, three. The gold one is mine.
You two can paper I rock I scissors
for the red one.
She's the one with the comfy seats.
It's all yours.
The contracts.
- One for you.
- Thanks.
One for you.
And you.
Two hundred thousand split four ways.
Any questions?
What happens to anyone that doesn't make it?
To their money?
Paragraph four.
Their share goes to those that do.
That's pretty cold.
Sounds fair to me. Who's that guy?
Mr. Varnay.
Tom Varnay,
Katka International Insurance Group.
Tully, these are my trucks. I say who goes.
They're your trucks, but it's Katka's insurance.
So if one goes in the lake, it's on Katka.
He's not taking a cut?
No, no, no. Absolutely not.
I'm just along for the ride,
and to protect Katka's investment.
All right, you'll ride with
Tantoo in the black Kenworth.
Put your gear in there.
You two will find safety bags in the locker area.
It's time to load up.
We'll fuel the rigs and we'll push in 15.
Thank you.
Thanks.
- Thank you.
- Hello.
Fifty grand apiece times two.
That's more than enough for a down payment
on a rig like this.
Sorry I ripped up your brochure, by the way.
I'm going to put Skeeter up front with us, okay?
Where are you?
Tantoo, is it?
Tully says you're Cree.
What's your name mean?
Name mean...
Like To Drive Alone.
Mount up!
Use the head if you have to now.
We're on a bull run.
See you on the flip side, Tully.
We'll run with 200-foot separations,
leapfrogging every few hours.
Everyone good with that?
Yup.
Affirmativo.
First leg: Lake Winnipeg Ice Road.
About 300 miles, 20 hours.
Second leg: Up over Manitoba Pass.
Third leg: Manitonka Ice Road to
Old Manitonka Bridge.
Twenty-three hours total.
What's wrong with New Manitonka?
The new bridge would be preferred,
but getting up to New Manitonka
is another 90 kilometers.
That puts us outside the miners' oxygen window.
Old Manitonka was built in the '60s,
so that's rated 75,000 pounds?
Yup. We're going to be shaving it close.
Here we go, people.
Oh, shit.
You said 120 meters that way,
80 that way?
Give or take.
Pretty decent atmospheric volume.
Yeah, except we got 26 sets of lungs down here.
Hey, Jim.
Yeah.
I thought I'd heard every trucker's expression,
so what the heck's a bull run?
Bull run?
Well, back in Minnesota,
all the livestock haulers never used to stop,
because bulls, you see, got to be standing
when they're being transported.
As soon as one gets tired and lies down,
then the others will step on him and kill him.
All livestock haulers know this,
so they never stop for anything.
Ah, I see.
I'm learning something tonight.
My eyes are open wide
I just passed a Jimmy And a White
I've been passing everything In sight
Six days on the road
And I'm gonna Make it home tonight
Well, it seems like a month
Since I kissed my baby Goodbye
I could have a lot of women
But I'm not like Some of the guys
Yeah, a big eight-wheeler Running down the track
Means your true love He ain't coming back
'"Cause I'm moving on
Hey, Jim, how you feeling about the ice?
Cold, hard and stiff.
I wish we weren't running in
bright sunshine tomorrow.
Said hello to the southland
We're coming to you
And we're moving on
Oh, hear my song
You want a sandwich?
You haven't eaten since we left.
You'll know when I'm hungry.
It's very unattractive.
You get cranky?
Worse. I act white.
Tully said you and Goldenrod had a falling out.
That wasn't a big deal.
Sounded like a big deal.
He fired me. I got upset, took a swing at him.
It's old news.
How's that Kenworth, boys?
She's a fine ride, Jim.
Thinking we might get one just like it.
Well, what you gonna call her?
Take your time, boys.
Naming a big rig's a sacred thing.
What'll we name our truck, Gurty?
Hmm. Truck-truck-truck.
You hear that?
Truck-truck-truck. I like it.
It's got a ring to it.
It is beautiful out here.
Is this really that dangerous?
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
What exactly do you do?
I'm an actuary.
A risk assessment professional,
if we're being formal.
Well, Mr. Varnay,
hauling heavy cargo on ice in April is a big deal.
See Custer's head there?
Tips us off to pressure waves.
You go too fast, you create a pressure wave.
In you go.
You go too slow, the ice can't handle
the pounds per square inch on your tire.
In you go.
What the hell was that? Over.
Sounds like my head gasket.
Come on, kid.
Come on!
Sweet Jesus, that ain't good.
Shit.
Shit.
Whoa, what the hell are you doing?
Going back.
I thought we weren't stopping for anything.
You know, all that bull run stuff?
I said, we're going back.
Goddamn it!
Gurty's going to run diagnostics
while we hook up.
We'll pull together.
Use the nylon snatch pulleys on the rear
so the rigs can swing.
Is this... this going to work?
How far are we gonna... gonna tow him?
All the way to the mine?
Do us all a favor, Mr. Varnay,
and get back in your truck.
Shit. Come on.
Oh...
Gurty!
Clear out.
What happened?
Rear trailer tires went in.
Oh, shit.
What the hell's going on?
Come on, Jim.
Jim! Jim!
Tow line's got me!
Cut me loose. My leg's broken.
Cut me loose or you're all going in!
The tow line's got me and my leg's broken.
Do it.
- Do it!
- I can't.
Do it!
Jesus.
Holy shit!
It's spreading out.
Meaning what?
Meaning it's going to keep cracking for two,
maybe three thousand meters.
That's over a mile.
We'll outrun it.
Let's move!
We got to unhook first.
There's no time.
We're going to have to run tied together. Go!
Get your harness on.
Mike, come in.
We got to hike up the speed. Over.
Roger.
Mike, come in.
We got to run faster.
Roger.
Gurty, running board.
Get out. On the running board.
Why?
So if we go through, we can jump clear.
Got a pressure wave ahead of me.
Well, I got one hell of
an ice crack behind me here,
so how do you want to die?
Slush bed at 200 yards. Get in and buckle up.
Hang on, pal. This is going to get ugly.
This is not good. This is not good.
This is not good!
I don't like this!
Shit!
Cut your seat belt.
You okay, pal?
We're finished.
It stopped.
Yeah.
It stopped!
We capsized for a reason.
Now our weight's displaced evenly
instead of on the tires.
So based on seven liters per minute, per man...
Seven liters?
That's all a grown man breathes?
When at rest,
the figure doubles with physical exertion.
Hey, Cody, can I ask you something?
Sure.
When the mine blew up,
I said we hit a methane pocket
and you said That's impossible.
Why?
It's still settling.
Air compressor.
Thank God, they're coming through.
Failed.
Hey,
what's the story, Cody?
Yeah.
What'd they say?
They say they're still working on it.
- Cody.
- Yeah?
You didn't answer my question.
Why is it impossible we hit a methane pocket?
Because I was told it would never happen.
By who?
Who told you that?
Cody...
Easy, boys! Easy! Get him out!
Easy!
Cody!
Whoa! Whoa!
SOS. SOS.
Forty-one point four zero.
Ice Road north of 53.
Kenworth through the ice.
Repeat: Kenworth through the ice.
Copy. Are there survivors?
Negative.
We are responding, thank you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. What about us?
What about us?
We're heading back, right?
Back?
Yeah. That's what I said.
The ice is bound to be
thinner to the south, not thicker.
We still have two deliverable wellheads.
Technical redundancy, remember?
And we're more than halfway there.
What do you think, Gurty?
Attaboy. Are you coming with, Tantoo?
Hell, yeah.
What? This is ridiculous. You're all going to die.
You want to go back,
go back. I suggest you do it quick.
Nichiiwad.
The big one.
We'll drop 50 degrees,
we'll pick up 8 to 10 centimeters of new ice.
Let's get the rigs upright and haul ass.
We're back in business.
You're out of your minds.
All of you!
Wait, wait, wait.
It appears you're the new leader here, so--
I'm not the leader of anything.
Everyone's on their own.
Fine. Whatever.
You're not curious about back there,
what happened?
We saw what happened.
No, I'm talking about the seized-up engine.
Go on.
How well do you know her? Tantoo?
Met her first time yesterday. Why?
Mind answering a couple of questions?
You worked for Jim Goldenrod,
what, two years?
Two and a half.
Why'd it end?
I used his rig on the weekend without permission.
So you're a thief.
I'm not a thief.
Hey, I was hauling banners for a demon...
What is this your business?
You weren't a happy camper, were you?
When he fired you?
No, I...
Look, just--
I've never seen a Kenworth with
less than 10k on the odometer
just up and quit, have you?
No.
Most diesel engines don't seize on their own.
Unless they burn gasoline.
What's this about?
You dosed Goldenrod's rig with
gas while we were loading up.
I saw you next to the pump.
You said you were checking the tire pressure.
That is a goddamn lie.
You were going to take us all out, weren't you?
So you could claim the whole 200 grand.
No, I don't know what you're talking about.
Who else, then? It wasn't me.
Wasn't Gurty. Wasn't him.
He works for the company that's paying us.
This is not about the money for me, you idiots!
God, my brother is in that mine.
And the longer that we stand here,
the closer he is to dying,
so if you could just move--
She's lying. You can't trust these people.
Call Katka.
His name is Cody Mantooth.
We have different fathers.
God, these people?
You're a racist asshole...
You're not going anywhere.
Look, just get out--
You're not going anywhere.
Fine.
Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
We call the company and check your story.
Yeah, and then go fuck yourself.
Tie her up, Gurty.
Yeah, Tully, it's Mike.
I just heard about Goldenrod
from County Emergency, what happened?
We think Tantoo dosed Jim's rig with gasoline.
Are you kidding?
That's worse than putting sugar in the tank.
Contact Katka, ask them if there's a miner,
Cody Mantooth, on the missing list.
I'll explain later.
You got it.
We want to discuss options.
Like what?
Like decreasing our numbers.
I want to talk to the folks upstairs.
I want to talk to the bosses.
You don't know tap code.
He does.
You guys can't be serious.
It's called triage.
Hospitals do it all the time.
If we decrease our numbers by one-third,
our oxygen window increases by--
We can do the math.
Hospitals are a bullshit analogy.
Patients get triaged
when it's determined they'd die anyway.
And what about these guys?
They're not going to make it till morning.
Well, no one's going for this.
I agree.
It's nuts.
Say you're wrong.
Say we're not.
Say we put it to a vote.
What's he saying, Cody?
They want to decrease our numbers.
Can't be serious.
Looks serious to me, Claude.
Nobody wants this, Barney. Don't make it personal.
Tell your friend this is
about as personal as it gets.
You guys seen yourselves?
Barney, that compound fracture has sepsis in it.
And you, Claude, how's that fever
treating ya?
You're not going to make it another 12 hours.
What if we say no?
It's going to a vote.
That's like two foxes and a chicken
voting on what's for dinner.
I always knew you were a prick, Mankins.
I didn't know until now you also were a murderer.
Suggest decreasing our number.
What does that mean?
They mean decreasing their number.
Well, how?
How do you think?
No.
What? No.
No, that's crazy. I'm not taking part in this.
We're not calling the shots down there, Fred.
Hey, those trailers smacked down hard.
Gurty and I are going to go check the loads,
then we'll push on.
How's she looking?
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Help! Hey!
- Open the damn door!
- Help! Help!
Open the damn door!
Help! Help!
Hey!
Open the damn door!
It was you.
You piece of shit.
Insurance actuary my ass.
What do you actually do for Katka?
Let's just say I work in a...
different department of the company.
Yeah, the sewer.
Look, here's the rules.
You behave yourself,
and you can stay in the restraints
those idiot truckers put on you.
But you get a little spirited,
which I know is a problem for you people,
and I will hog-tie you
and throw you in the rear.
Yeah?
Mike, what's your status?
No, it's Varnay. We're...
I've got an answer
- on that Cody Mantooth...
- stuck in a storm.
I can't-- I can't talk!
Please work. Please work.
She's outfitted with a heater unit.
Hey, Gurty, how heavy do we think
this double mill pipe is?
Five mill double hundred.
Huh?
Three... four... zero.
Three-forty each?
Grab hold of the end of this one.
We're going to punch that out.
Punch pipe the pin post.
My thoughts exactly.
Easy.
Easy.
Easy.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Yes!
Oh, no!
He took the phone,
the pistol, our gear bags.
And the Too.
And the what?
Tantoo.
Tantoo as well.
Let's figure this out.
What's the matter with you?
Ease off!
More!
Hike up the pressure!
Gurty!
I said, more!
More!
Jeez.
I said, more!
Mike!
Yeah, I see it. It's called a winch.
Mike, welding's a winter snap!
What?
Welding's not cold!
Just do it!
Do you know why we get fired?
It's not your disability.
It's your freaking attitude.
You probably didn't take
orders before your disability.
I don't know what's going on here,
but that prick, he killed Goldenrod
and he nearly killed us.
He pinned it all on Tantoo,
who's out here to save
her brother, and we helped him.
We have one chance,
one chance to get out of this
and make this right.
And you're not going to wreck it.
Not this time.
Don't you dare touch that.
Come on, come on, come on.
She's coming free.
What the hell was that?
Gurty? Gurty?
Gurty!
Gurty! Gurty!
Gurty! Stay there! Stay with me!
Come on, Gurty. Come on. Breathe.
Breathe.
Come on, Gurty. Work with me here.
Oh, jeez.
Gurty.
Gurty.
Jesus.
Here, pal. Here, pal. Here, pal.
I got you. I got you.
Gurty, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit you.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.
I'm sorry, Gurty.
Mike...
Yeah. Sunken dreams, Gurty.
Sunken dreams.
Yeah. It's eating at me too.
Why would an employee
of the company that hired us
sabotage...?
They want us to fail.
That's it.
They want us to fail. I didn't see it.
I've been too wrapped up in
what's in this for us.
Oh, now I'm angry.
Let's get out of here.
It's not about money now.
This is personal.
Should be 20 minutes to the shoreline.
Rig two's in the lake
20 clicks due south.
Took the mechanic and the driver with it.
I told them not to store dynamite in the trailer
due to friction detonation,
but they had other ideas.
Good.
Good. That's good.
How about the driver?
Well, she's alive, sir.
Put the cab through that guardrail up there.
Your story is she lost control,
you dove for safety before it went over.
You clear?
Clear, sir.
The miners' oxygen window closes in three hours,
so the press is going to be all over us.
They need to be told our...
valiant rescue had a tragic end.
I'll make it happen, sir.
Good. Good.
You call me when it's done.
If you do this, it's on your head.
You want to blame someone, blame management.
What has management got to do with it?
- All those in favor, raise your--
- Mankins!
I asked you a question.
Because they made us cut the damn sensors, Ren.
They what?
They claimed the new quotas
were killing them, so they...
couldn't afford a shutdown.
They said there was no chance of
gas pockets this far north.
And they sweetened the deal.
How much?
Hundred dollars per man per month.
You turned off the gas sensors for $100 a month?
And anyone who blew the whistle gets shit-canned.
None of that matters now, Ren.
Our oxygen is falling fast.
There's a vote on the floor.
All those in favor, raise your hands.
No.
Hey!
How much methane do you think is in here now?
Huh?
These men are not the enemy.
The enemy's up there.
Bullshit!
The enemy's asphyxiation.
We're getting out of here together,
or not at all.
You're one stupid son of a bitch, Ren.
You too, Cody.
Maybe so, but this is how it's going to be.
Right here.
Let's clear the road.
Ow!
Yeah, that's what I thought.
You're never gonna get away with this.
You know there's gonna be an investigation.
That's the plan.
What is that?
Ah!
Thanks.
Mayday! Mayday!
Mayday! Come in! Anybody, come in!
Mayday! Mayday!
Mayday! ls anybody out there?
Tantoo, it's Mike.
We're coming up the Pass. Where are you?
Approaching the upper traverse.
I got Varnay behind me with others.
They're all armed.
We've got two hours to get to Katka,
and I'm still pulling weight.
They're trying to stop us.
Yeah, we figured.
Cody always said that they cut
corners with the methane regs.
Those bastards, they caused the cave-in,
now they're trying to cover it up.
Not going to happen. Just hang on.
We're coming.
Take them out so it will pass forensics.
No bullet holes.
Do not discharge your weapons.
What?
Shit.
Oh, come on. One more mile.
We can do one more mile. Come on.
Yeah, we can do it. Come on.
Pull over!
Pull over now!
Pull over!
If they were going to shoot us,
they would've done it by now.
Yeah. Good. Come on.
Ready, bro?
Pull over now!
Well, don't just stand there. Let's go.
Come on, come on, don't stop, don't stop.
Don't you dare stop. Come on.
Don't do this to me. Don't...
Don't do this.
Come on, keep going. Don't stop, don't stop!
Come on, you piece of shit. Let's go.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it!
I didn't mean it!
Don't think that I'm not going to use this on you!
What's your game?
Oh, what, are you just going to stand there?
Yeah.
This is the last wellhead.
What are you going to do?
You going to push it
the rest of the way? Because...
if you're going to make it to Katka
before your brother stops breathing...
that's what you're going to have to do.
The other drivers are going to come.
The other drivers are dead.
Oh, my--
He ripped out my fuel equalizer.
Gurty can fix that.
We'll change out your fuel line
and siphon enough juice to get you down to Katka.
Listen...
we...
we seriously misjudged you.
Friends?
Yeah.
Hey, how long do you think
all this is going to take?
A couple of minutes.
- I know you're anxious about your brother.
- Yeah.
Cody's all I got, you know?
It's kind of like you and yours.
Yeah.
Gurty's like that commercial.
Takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'.
That last can should do it.
He saved my life. Give him a treat.
We can't stay here and we can't back up.
- We'll have to outrun it.
- You're dreaming.
You got a better idea?
Oh! Whoo!
Oh.
Uncouple the trailer.
We got a wellhead to deliver.
Oh, jeez.
It's not as bad as it looks.
It's, uh...
It looks pretty bad, kid.
Just be fast about it.
Uh...
Like pulling out a wisdom tooth.
A wisdom tooth? Do I--
Do I look like a dentist?
Aah!
Good girl. Good girl.
Breathe. Breathe.
That's it. Good girl. Good girl.
Gurty, come and help me!
Good girl. Good girl.
Come on.
Hang tight.
Gurty and I are going to
haul your trailer off the cliff,
hook up, and head to that mine.
We still got 45 minutes.
Yeah.
Sir?
Mine Safety down in
Winnipeg wants Ren's laptops.
Fred, Mine Safety gets the laptops
when I say they get the laptops, all right?
We got a goddamn CEO to worry about.
Yeah, well, you can tell him yourself.
He'll be here in an hour.
There is nothing in
those e-mails that implicates us.
Everything was cash, so there's no paper trail.
To the authorities, this just looks like
another tragic mining accident.
Right in the morning,
we open Tunnel 6.
We remove the bodies.
We let the public hold their ritual funerals.
We weather the obligatory
occupational hazard debate.
And we open back up.
Business as usual.
Come on, Varnay, answer the goddamn phone.
Look, Gurty, we did it.
We did it!
Mike. Mike.
Give me that pistol!
Gurty, you got to take the wheel.
Come on. You can do it.
Do not stop until you reach the mine, got it?
Do not stop.
Hey. Kill him.
Not for me, for my brother.
I've done this a thousand times.
Move. I can do it.
Shit.
Traction pads. Yes, go.
Oh!
Go! Come on, come on.
Shit. Shit.
Gurty, the cables are snapping!
Let's go! Come on!
Come on.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
Gurty, shut the gate!
Gurty!
Gurty?
Gurty. Gurty!
He saved the rig.
Oh, Jesus.
Mike...
you...
brother mine.
My brother.
Brother. Mine.
No, no, no, no.
No.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Deputy Minister, Jack Tager,
vice president of operations.
George Sickle, general manager.
- Gentlemen.
- Sir.
- Sickle.
- How are you, sir?
It's cold up here.
We have hot drink and food inside, sir.
How was the drive down from Gillam Airfield?
Cut the formalities, Sickle.
Tell me the situation.
Our last contact with the rescue team was 0300.
Deputy Minister, how about you?
Your man in Winnipeg. Heard anything?
Negative.
It's been 30 hours
and the wellheads haven't arrived.
I don't believe the men
are going to get out of Tunnel 6 alive.
What's that?
That's our emergency Klaxon.
Oh, my God.
Hey, welcome to Katka.
You McCann?
Yeah.
You need medical?
Everyone, on the double.
We still have a chance.
We got another one. Get me the gurney, ASAP.
There's no hurry.
We need to get that wellhead
unloaded and bolted down.
Let's go! Straight to the drill site.
Go, go, go, go!
Wellhead team, let's go! You're up!
Got it!
Wellhead is tapped and sprung.
All right, blasting team, Tunnel 6 on the double!
Young lady, you're in no condition...
I don't give a shit. You can put a Band-Aid on it.
I heard blasting,
- I'm going to find Cody.
- Tantoo. Tantoo.
What?
We're outside the oxygen window.
We didn't make it in time.
Don't say that.
Look, Gurty died so that
the miners would live, okay?
My brother is alive.
I'm going to find him. Let's go.
Someone's coming out!
Cody?
Cody?
Oh, my God!
Cody. You're alive.
Oh, my God.
You saved my life.
I had help.
Thank you.
You paid them?
You paid them to shut off their sensors?
You're disgusting.
Mr. McCann?
I'm Deputy Minister of
Natural Resources for Canada.
I want to thank you,
and offer condolences for your brother.
The company has some papers for you to sign.
We have a check for you,
and the police need your statement.
Excuse me, Mr. McCann?
We found this with your brother's things.
Thank you.
- Hey!
- Hey.
Brand-new Kenworth, huh?
Yup.
It's a good color.
In honor of Jim.
What you hauling?
Sporting goods.
Oh. Ain't that the life.
Yup. No bosses, no punching time clocks.
- Good pay rates.
- Yeah.
Well, you find yourself pining for the ice road,
you know where to find me.
Deal.
Thank you, Mike.
We ain't got much
Where I come from
We all work hard
Don't bet on good luck
Ain't no easy street
Just some gravel And a blacktop
And we hold on to
Oh, everything we got
We got grit, we got guts
We got pride We got tough
Ain't no giving up Running through our veins
Backs to the wall We'll find a way
Never say quit Never say die
Play a little rough You're doggone right
Oh, knock us down We'll come back every time
Yeah, we got fight
We don't bark much
We just hang tight
Sometimes the underdog
Got the baddest bite
It's how we were born
How we were raised
From our boots To our last names
We got grit, we got guts
We got pride We got tough
Ain't no giving up Running through our veins
Backs to the wall We'll find a way
Never say quit Never say die
Play a little rough Yeah, you're doggone right
Knock us down We'll come back every time
Oh, knock us down
We'll come back Every time
Oh, knock us down
We'll come back Every time
Oh, we got fight
Hell, we got fight
Oh, oh
We got fight
I'm gonna rise
From the dust and the ashes
I reach for the sky
It's all coming down
It's all coming down
This life I've been living
I'll leave on the ground
It's all coming down
As sure as this world
Won't stop turning around
Morning will bring
A brand-new beginning
A new song to sing
And the trumpet will sound
All around
And I'll see that sweet
John's soul coming down
It's all coming down
As sure as this world
Won't stop turning around
Right up there. Right up in here.
Down.
Aim for the rock!
Mankins!
Yeah?
You want to tell me why
your methane sensors are off?
I don't know.
Maybe the batteries are dead.
Why don't you get us a canary?
This is no joke.
These are to alert you to
concentrations of methane.
They must stay on.
Where'd that come from?
Sounds like the open pit.
We hit a methane pocket.
That's impossible.
Everybody, out! Everybody, out!
Come on!
Go!
Go, go.
No!
Help me!
Go, go, go!
All I do is drive, drive, drive
Try to stay alive
My mind on my load
I got nothing in common With any man
Who's home every day At five
All I do is drive, drive, drive, drive, drive
What you got, Gurty?
Come on, you can say it. You can say it.
We will sort right here,
and they will save their hands right there.
The coffee saved with water for me.
For him. For them.
Is it coffee, Gurty?
This how you guys still get your kicks, huh?
Walk away, Gurty. They're idiots.
Hey...
how's it feel to be best friends with a retard?
He's my brother, Johansson.
And I told you never to call him that.
Retard.
McCann, get in here!
I know what you get,
but I talk with a lot of
hands for hands sometimes.
Gurty.
We're fired.
But tires to a point rotated go.
Let someone else rotate them. We're fired.
Pack your shit up. Skeeter too. Come on.
I don't want.
- Me never been in, and then--
- Yeah, I know, I know.
- Today we don't.
- Gurty, I don't care.
You're going in.
They're going to look after you.
We've been together a long time,
but he can't hold a job,
and I can't carry him anymore.
I don't have a lot of tire
left on my own treads.
Will this help make
him self-sufficient, Doctor?
I can't promise anything
with language cognition scores like these,
but we'll see what we can do.
Hi, John, I'm Dr. Talbot.
Pleased to meet you.
Thank you, I appreciate it,
and hope the world lasts for you.
He's saying hello.
How long to go with them?
With them for the time over.
For them. For me.
He's asking what all this entails, Doctor.
Well, just a few tests.
If he qualifies for rehabilitation,
we arrange housing.
Should take no more than an hour.
Skeeter.
You can't bring Skeeter in here.
Let them poke and prod you. It's no big deal.
I'll see you in an hour.
Hey, don't be a big baby.
Thanks, Doctor.
You're welcome.
John, the examination room is just down the hall.
Psych evaluator Hackman, dial 617.
Psych evaluator Hackman, dial 617.
No readings indicated a methane gas pocket?
So you're saying,
as general manager of this facility,
that this was out of the blue?
Completely out of the blue, sir.
We think the gas built up
behind the stoping shields
where our PDM sensors couldn't pick it up.
I'm briefing the prime minister in 20 minutes.
Listen carefully.
No one goes in any of the tunnels
until that gas is drilled and capped.
Understood, sir. Understood.
Let me ask you, how do we drill and cap
a methane pocket without a wellhead?
I'll get back to you.
Get me the air force base in Winnipeg,
Officer in charge of civilian emergencies.
Airlift a 30-ton gas wellhead? Impossible.
And there's no runway up at
Katka to land a C-130 on,
and our largest choppers are Chinooks,
which can't carry a 30-ton wellhead.
Payloads of that nature have to go by truck.
Jill, that young field officer in Winnipeg
is supposed to know everything
about ice road transports
up to the northern mines.
- You mean, Max Tully?
- Yes, him.
The prime minister will see you now.
Just a sec.
Max Tully?
Mr. Goldenrod!
What?
I'm Max Tully with Mining Safety.
Could I have a word with you?
It's about Katka Mine.
What about Katka?
This morning, Tunnel 6 collapsed.
I need an 18-foot gas wellhead,
300 feet of pipe delivered up there
in under 30 hours.
Eighteen-foot gas wellhead and 300 feet of pipe?
Goddamn, that's a hell of a lot of weight, son.
Can you make it happen?
What do I look like, God?
We're three weeks into April.
All my drivers are on their way to Hawaii,
or wherever the hell it is that
they go during the off-season.
Say, for conversation's sake,
you have replacements.
We'll say for conversation's sake
that these rigs have wings.
What have you been smoking?
March 10th, the season ended.
That's five weeks ago.
But didn't old-timers back in the '60s
drive the lake into April?
Yeah, and most of them died doing it.
So it's really that dangerous?
Yeah. It's that dangerous.
Okay, okay. It's a stupid idea.
Sorry for asking.
Hey, hey, kid. Come here.
I know all the miners up there in Katka.
I know their families.
So... it's personal with me.
If I can get drivers and a mechanic...
let's say 3:00 this afternoon,
and if you can get the provincial government
to open up the Ice Road,
two very big ifs...
we'll do it.
Thank you.
Shit.
Hi. Um...
- Excuse me.
- Yes?
I brought my brother in this morning.
Vocational rehab?
McCann, 813.
He's still being evaluated, sir.
The doctor said an hour.
It's been two and a half.
We're a little short-staffed today,
so please take a seat.
Hey! Sir?
Sir!
Get Security on 2-East, please.
Hey, bro.
What's happening?
What is all this?
Oh, jeez.
What is going on here?
Xanax and Lexapro, right?
Probably some Oxy for good measure?
You know, to take the edge off?
They're for PTSD.
I know what they're for.
Did you ask for these, Gurty?
He has insomnia, hypertension,
makes inappropriate outbursts.
Oh, kiss my Irish ass.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is real.
I can Section 502 him.
Do it.
The press'll love another story
about how the VA overprescribes opioids
to America's heroes.
You are making a grave mistake.
You try and stop us
from leaving here, so are you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Here, put this on.
It's cold.
Wait, here. Here.
Come on, your pants.
Ken-Kenworth.
More Ken.
Take us great that owned we.
We.
Sure, sure.
It would be great if we owned our own rig.
Did you win the lottery?
Did you happen to win the Pick-6
and not tell me?
This thing costs 200 grand, Gurty.
Two hundred.
Ever been to Winnipeg, Gurty?
It's just 70 miles.
Win a pig.
We might, partner.
With any luck, today, we might just win a pig.
News all day, every day.
Our top story: Twin explosions rocked
Northern Manitoba's Katka Mine this morning,
killing eight miners
and leaving 26 more unaccounted for.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Hi, I'm calling from Trapper Transpo in Winnipeg.
We're in an emergency and need drivers.
Tully, give me 50 bucks. You got 50 bucks?
Yeah, I do.
One of my drivers just became available.
- Thanks.
- Fantastic.
Wh-What's it for?
Bail.
- What?
- Told you this wasn't going to be easy.
Sunglasses and keys.
You protest and throw rocks again,
we'll arrest you again.
We're going to keep doing it
until you get off our land.
The city owns that parking lot.
I was referring to North America.
See you soon.
How's the fight for justice going?
Keep building casinos,
you'll beat the white man without a shot fired.
You heard about the cave-in up at Katka?
Yeah, it was on the TV in there.
I still haven't heard from Cody, though.
I'm worried sick.
He's on the list of those missing.
I'm putting together a little rescue mission.
Ice Road?
Yup.
I'm in.
Let's get a head count. Cody.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten
Eleven.
Twelve.
Thirteen.
I got a wife and kids, Jim.
How would I even explain this to them?
No one's going to force you to go, Dave.
I understand, it's not for everyone.
Thanks.
What do you got?
Half are retired,
half have never seen an ice road.
Next, there are two guys up from North Dakota.
Brothers.
Thank you.
Which one of you guys is Mike McCann?
I am.
You're the driver? He's the mechanic?
Yup. One of the best.
Says you had experience on the ice road
in the Northwest Territory.
That's pretty serious country.
What'd you drive?
Anything on wheels.
Says you've had 11 gigs in the last eight years,
which ain't exactly inspiring my confidence.
There some reason that you can't hold down a job?
My... my brother's a veteran.
Got injured in Iraq.
Uh, he's got this thing called aphasia,
which is--
I know what it is.
Long story short, um,
for the past eight years I've been his caretaker,
for lack of a better word, and...
- And we--
- I get it, I get it.
I ain't got time. What's his name?
Call him Gurty.
Gurty. Hey.
Gurty, Jim Goldenrod.
Grab your tool set, follow me.
Right here.
I want you to pull the rocker arm shaft.
I'm going to time you.
Say when.
Go.
Sweet Jesus.
Okay, Tully...
send everybody else home and call Katka.
I got my crew.
Where's Tantoo?
She's re-parking somebody else's rig.
She seems a little young.
- I'll have the contracts drawn up.
- Thank you.
Enough.
Anyone not out by now isn't coming out.
You guys hearing that?
What is that?
That sounds like tap code.
You men, give us a hand.
Somebody had to have been in the Army,
Navy, Cub Scouts.
What are they saying, Cody?
How many alive?
Look, if you do hear something,
you call me, all right?
Yes, sir.
Uh...
26...
alive.
Fred, listen to me. Listen to me.
You tell them we're going to cap that methane
with a wellhead, all right?
And then we're going to blast.
You tell them those wellheads
are coming ASAP, all right?
- Okay.
- Okay.
Wellheads arrive ASAP.
What do they mean, ASAP?
Six hours?
Twelve hours?
What if it's 30?
Then we're dead.
The 26 includes Lampard.
Yup.
Mankins?
He's alive.
So the question is time.
I mean, no one's ever lasted
over 30 hours under permafrost.
Well, the government's got that Ice Road open.
Safety supervisor guy,
he's even managed to secure transpo.
Jim Goldenrod.
If Jim Goldenrod believes 25-ton wellheads
can roll across a frozen lake in April,
I suppose we should believe it too.
All right. These wellheads are beasts.
Eighteen feet long, 25 ton heavy.
We got three rigs, all identically equipped
so that we can achieve tactical redundancy.
We're taking every chance
to save those miners' lives.
Tactical re-what-ancy?
Redundancy.
Each rig doesn't need the others
to complete the mission.
Gold star to the man from North Dakota.
One, two, three. The gold one is mine.
You two can paper I rock I scissors
for the red one.
She's the one with the comfy seats.
It's all yours.
The contracts.
- One for you.
- Thanks.
One for you.
And you.
Two hundred thousand split four ways.
Any questions?
What happens to anyone that doesn't make it?
To their money?
Paragraph four.
Their share goes to those that do.
That's pretty cold.
Sounds fair to me. Who's that guy?
Mr. Varnay.
Tom Varnay,
Katka International Insurance Group.
Tully, these are my trucks. I say who goes.
They're your trucks, but it's Katka's insurance.
So if one goes in the lake, it's on Katka.
He's not taking a cut?
No, no, no. Absolutely not.
I'm just along for the ride,
and to protect Katka's investment.
All right, you'll ride with
Tantoo in the black Kenworth.
Put your gear in there.
You two will find safety bags in the locker area.
It's time to load up.
We'll fuel the rigs and we'll push in 15.
Thank you.
Thanks.
- Thank you.
- Hello.
Fifty grand apiece times two.
That's more than enough for a down payment
on a rig like this.
Sorry I ripped up your brochure, by the way.
I'm going to put Skeeter up front with us, okay?
Where are you?
Tantoo, is it?
Tully says you're Cree.
What's your name mean?
Name mean...
Like To Drive Alone.
Mount up!
Use the head if you have to now.
We're on a bull run.
See you on the flip side, Tully.
We'll run with 200-foot separations,
leapfrogging every few hours.
Everyone good with that?
Yup.
Affirmativo.
First leg: Lake Winnipeg Ice Road.
About 300 miles, 20 hours.
Second leg: Up over Manitoba Pass.
Third leg: Manitonka Ice Road to
Old Manitonka Bridge.
Twenty-three hours total.
What's wrong with New Manitonka?
The new bridge would be preferred,
but getting up to New Manitonka
is another 90 kilometers.
That puts us outside the miners' oxygen window.
Old Manitonka was built in the '60s,
so that's rated 75,000 pounds?
Yup. We're going to be shaving it close.
Here we go, people.
Oh, shit.
You said 120 meters that way,
80 that way?
Give or take.
Pretty decent atmospheric volume.
Yeah, except we got 26 sets of lungs down here.
Hey, Jim.
Yeah.
I thought I'd heard every trucker's expression,
so what the heck's a bull run?
Bull run?
Well, back in Minnesota,
all the livestock haulers never used to stop,
because bulls, you see, got to be standing
when they're being transported.
As soon as one gets tired and lies down,
then the others will step on him and kill him.
All livestock haulers know this,
so they never stop for anything.
Ah, I see.
I'm learning something tonight.
My eyes are open wide
I just passed a Jimmy And a White
I've been passing everything In sight
Six days on the road
And I'm gonna Make it home tonight
Well, it seems like a month
Since I kissed my baby Goodbye
I could have a lot of women
But I'm not like Some of the guys
Yeah, a big eight-wheeler Running down the track
Means your true love He ain't coming back
'"Cause I'm moving on
Hey, Jim, how you feeling about the ice?
Cold, hard and stiff.
I wish we weren't running in
bright sunshine tomorrow.
Said hello to the southland
We're coming to you
And we're moving on
Oh, hear my song
You want a sandwich?
You haven't eaten since we left.
You'll know when I'm hungry.
It's very unattractive.
You get cranky?
Worse. I act white.
Tully said you and Goldenrod had a falling out.
That wasn't a big deal.
Sounded like a big deal.
He fired me. I got upset, took a swing at him.
It's old news.
How's that Kenworth, boys?
She's a fine ride, Jim.
Thinking we might get one just like it.
Well, what you gonna call her?
Take your time, boys.
Naming a big rig's a sacred thing.
What'll we name our truck, Gurty?
Hmm. Truck-truck-truck.
You hear that?
Truck-truck-truck. I like it.
It's got a ring to it.
It is beautiful out here.
Is this really that dangerous?
It doesn't seem like a big deal.
What exactly do you do?
I'm an actuary.
A risk assessment professional,
if we're being formal.
Well, Mr. Varnay,
hauling heavy cargo on ice in April is a big deal.
See Custer's head there?
Tips us off to pressure waves.
You go too fast, you create a pressure wave.
In you go.
You go too slow, the ice can't handle
the pounds per square inch on your tire.
In you go.
What the hell was that? Over.
Sounds like my head gasket.
Come on, kid.
Come on!
Sweet Jesus, that ain't good.
Shit.
Shit.
Whoa, what the hell are you doing?
Going back.
I thought we weren't stopping for anything.
You know, all that bull run stuff?
I said, we're going back.
Goddamn it!
Gurty's going to run diagnostics
while we hook up.
We'll pull together.
Use the nylon snatch pulleys on the rear
so the rigs can swing.
Is this... this going to work?
How far are we gonna... gonna tow him?
All the way to the mine?
Do us all a favor, Mr. Varnay,
and get back in your truck.
Shit. Come on.
Oh...
Gurty!
Clear out.
What happened?
Rear trailer tires went in.
Oh, shit.
What the hell's going on?
Come on, Jim.
Jim! Jim!
Tow line's got me!
Cut me loose. My leg's broken.
Cut me loose or you're all going in!
The tow line's got me and my leg's broken.
Do it.
- Do it!
- I can't.
Do it!
Jesus.
Holy shit!
It's spreading out.
Meaning what?
Meaning it's going to keep cracking for two,
maybe three thousand meters.
That's over a mile.
We'll outrun it.
Let's move!
We got to unhook first.
There's no time.
We're going to have to run tied together. Go!
Get your harness on.
Mike, come in.
We got to hike up the speed. Over.
Roger.
Mike, come in.
We got to run faster.
Roger.
Gurty, running board.
Get out. On the running board.
Why?
So if we go through, we can jump clear.
Got a pressure wave ahead of me.
Well, I got one hell of
an ice crack behind me here,
so how do you want to die?
Slush bed at 200 yards. Get in and buckle up.
Hang on, pal. This is going to get ugly.
This is not good. This is not good.
This is not good!
I don't like this!
Shit!
Cut your seat belt.
You okay, pal?
We're finished.
It stopped.
Yeah.
It stopped!
We capsized for a reason.
Now our weight's displaced evenly
instead of on the tires.
So based on seven liters per minute, per man...
Seven liters?
That's all a grown man breathes?
When at rest,
the figure doubles with physical exertion.
Hey, Cody, can I ask you something?
Sure.
When the mine blew up,
I said we hit a methane pocket
and you said That's impossible.
Why?
It's still settling.
Air compressor.
Thank God, they're coming through.
Failed.
Hey,
what's the story, Cody?
Yeah.
What'd they say?
They say they're still working on it.
- Cody.
- Yeah?
You didn't answer my question.
Why is it impossible we hit a methane pocket?
Because I was told it would never happen.
By who?
Who told you that?
Cody...
Easy, boys! Easy! Get him out!
Easy!
Cody!
Whoa! Whoa!
SOS. SOS.
Forty-one point four zero.
Ice Road north of 53.
Kenworth through the ice.
Repeat: Kenworth through the ice.
Copy. Are there survivors?
Negative.
We are responding, thank you.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. What about us?
What about us?
We're heading back, right?
Back?
Yeah. That's what I said.
The ice is bound to be
thinner to the south, not thicker.
We still have two deliverable wellheads.
Technical redundancy, remember?
And we're more than halfway there.
What do you think, Gurty?
Attaboy. Are you coming with, Tantoo?
Hell, yeah.
What? This is ridiculous. You're all going to die.
You want to go back,
go back. I suggest you do it quick.
Nichiiwad.
The big one.
We'll drop 50 degrees,
we'll pick up 8 to 10 centimeters of new ice.
Let's get the rigs upright and haul ass.
We're back in business.
You're out of your minds.
All of you!
Wait, wait, wait.
It appears you're the new leader here, so--
I'm not the leader of anything.
Everyone's on their own.
Fine. Whatever.
You're not curious about back there,
what happened?
We saw what happened.
No, I'm talking about the seized-up engine.
Go on.
How well do you know her? Tantoo?
Met her first time yesterday. Why?
Mind answering a couple of questions?
You worked for Jim Goldenrod,
what, two years?
Two and a half.
Why'd it end?
I used his rig on the weekend without permission.
So you're a thief.
I'm not a thief.
Hey, I was hauling banners for a demon...
What is this your business?
You weren't a happy camper, were you?
When he fired you?
No, I...
Look, just--
I've never seen a Kenworth with
less than 10k on the odometer
just up and quit, have you?
No.
Most diesel engines don't seize on their own.
Unless they burn gasoline.
What's this about?
You dosed Goldenrod's rig with
gas while we were loading up.
I saw you next to the pump.
You said you were checking the tire pressure.
That is a goddamn lie.
You were going to take us all out, weren't you?
So you could claim the whole 200 grand.
No, I don't know what you're talking about.
Who else, then? It wasn't me.
Wasn't Gurty. Wasn't him.
He works for the company that's paying us.
This is not about the money for me, you idiots!
God, my brother is in that mine.
And the longer that we stand here,
the closer he is to dying,
so if you could just move--
She's lying. You can't trust these people.
Call Katka.
His name is Cody Mantooth.
We have different fathers.
God, these people?
You're a racist asshole...
You're not going anywhere.
Look, just get out--
You're not going anywhere.
Fine.
Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
We call the company and check your story.
Yeah, and then go fuck yourself.
Tie her up, Gurty.
Yeah, Tully, it's Mike.
I just heard about Goldenrod
from County Emergency, what happened?
We think Tantoo dosed Jim's rig with gasoline.
Are you kidding?
That's worse than putting sugar in the tank.
Contact Katka, ask them if there's a miner,
Cody Mantooth, on the missing list.
I'll explain later.
You got it.
We want to discuss options.
Like what?
Like decreasing our numbers.
I want to talk to the folks upstairs.
I want to talk to the bosses.
You don't know tap code.
He does.
You guys can't be serious.
It's called triage.
Hospitals do it all the time.
If we decrease our numbers by one-third,
our oxygen window increases by--
We can do the math.
Hospitals are a bullshit analogy.
Patients get triaged
when it's determined they'd die anyway.
And what about these guys?
They're not going to make it till morning.
Well, no one's going for this.
I agree.
It's nuts.
Say you're wrong.
Say we're not.
Say we put it to a vote.
What's he saying, Cody?
They want to decrease our numbers.
Can't be serious.
Looks serious to me, Claude.
Nobody wants this, Barney. Don't make it personal.
Tell your friend this is
about as personal as it gets.
You guys seen yourselves?
Barney, that compound fracture has sepsis in it.
And you, Claude, how's that fever
treating ya?
You're not going to make it another 12 hours.
What if we say no?
It's going to a vote.
That's like two foxes and a chicken
voting on what's for dinner.
I always knew you were a prick, Mankins.
I didn't know until now you also were a murderer.
Suggest decreasing our number.
What does that mean?
They mean decreasing their number.
Well, how?
How do you think?
No.
What? No.
No, that's crazy. I'm not taking part in this.
We're not calling the shots down there, Fred.
Hey, those trailers smacked down hard.
Gurty and I are going to go check the loads,
then we'll push on.
How's she looking?
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Help! Hey!
- Open the damn door!
- Help! Help!
Open the damn door!
Help! Help!
Hey!
Open the damn door!
It was you.
You piece of shit.
Insurance actuary my ass.
What do you actually do for Katka?
Let's just say I work in a...
different department of the company.
Yeah, the sewer.
Look, here's the rules.
You behave yourself,
and you can stay in the restraints
those idiot truckers put on you.
But you get a little spirited,
which I know is a problem for you people,
and I will hog-tie you
and throw you in the rear.
Yeah?
Mike, what's your status?
No, it's Varnay. We're...
I've got an answer
- on that Cody Mantooth...
- stuck in a storm.
I can't-- I can't talk!
Please work. Please work.
She's outfitted with a heater unit.
Hey, Gurty, how heavy do we think
this double mill pipe is?
Five mill double hundred.
Huh?
Three... four... zero.
Three-forty each?
Grab hold of the end of this one.
We're going to punch that out.
Punch pipe the pin post.
My thoughts exactly.
Easy.
Easy.
Easy.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
Yes!
Oh, no!
He took the phone,
the pistol, our gear bags.
And the Too.
And the what?
Tantoo.
Tantoo as well.
Let's figure this out.
What's the matter with you?
Ease off!
More!
Hike up the pressure!
Gurty!
I said, more!
More!
Jeez.
I said, more!
Mike!
Yeah, I see it. It's called a winch.
Mike, welding's a winter snap!
What?
Welding's not cold!
Just do it!
Do you know why we get fired?
It's not your disability.
It's your freaking attitude.
You probably didn't take
orders before your disability.
I don't know what's going on here,
but that prick, he killed Goldenrod
and he nearly killed us.
He pinned it all on Tantoo,
who's out here to save
her brother, and we helped him.
We have one chance,
one chance to get out of this
and make this right.
And you're not going to wreck it.
Not this time.
Don't you dare touch that.
Come on, come on, come on.
She's coming free.
What the hell was that?
Gurty? Gurty?
Gurty!
Gurty! Gurty!
Gurty! Stay there! Stay with me!
Come on, Gurty. Come on. Breathe.
Breathe.
Come on, Gurty. Work with me here.
Oh, jeez.
Gurty.
Gurty.
Jesus.
Here, pal. Here, pal. Here, pal.
I got you. I got you.
Gurty, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hit you.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.
I'm sorry, Gurty.
Mike...
Yeah. Sunken dreams, Gurty.
Sunken dreams.
Yeah. It's eating at me too.
Why would an employee
of the company that hired us
sabotage...?
They want us to fail.
That's it.
They want us to fail. I didn't see it.
I've been too wrapped up in
what's in this for us.
Oh, now I'm angry.
Let's get out of here.
It's not about money now.
This is personal.
Should be 20 minutes to the shoreline.
Rig two's in the lake
20 clicks due south.
Took the mechanic and the driver with it.
I told them not to store dynamite in the trailer
due to friction detonation,
but they had other ideas.
Good.
Good. That's good.
How about the driver?
Well, she's alive, sir.
Put the cab through that guardrail up there.
Your story is she lost control,
you dove for safety before it went over.
You clear?
Clear, sir.
The miners' oxygen window closes in three hours,
so the press is going to be all over us.
They need to be told our...
valiant rescue had a tragic end.
I'll make it happen, sir.
Good. Good.
You call me when it's done.
If you do this, it's on your head.
You want to blame someone, blame management.
What has management got to do with it?
- All those in favor, raise your--
- Mankins!
I asked you a question.
Because they made us cut the damn sensors, Ren.
They what?
They claimed the new quotas
were killing them, so they...
couldn't afford a shutdown.
They said there was no chance of
gas pockets this far north.
And they sweetened the deal.
How much?
Hundred dollars per man per month.
You turned off the gas sensors for $100 a month?
And anyone who blew the whistle gets shit-canned.
None of that matters now, Ren.
Our oxygen is falling fast.
There's a vote on the floor.
All those in favor, raise your hands.
No.
Hey!
How much methane do you think is in here now?
Huh?
These men are not the enemy.
The enemy's up there.
Bullshit!
The enemy's asphyxiation.
We're getting out of here together,
or not at all.
You're one stupid son of a bitch, Ren.
You too, Cody.
Maybe so, but this is how it's going to be.
Right here.
Let's clear the road.
Ow!
Yeah, that's what I thought.
You're never gonna get away with this.
You know there's gonna be an investigation.
That's the plan.
What is that?
Ah!
Thanks.
Mayday! Mayday!
Mayday! Come in! Anybody, come in!
Mayday! Mayday!
Mayday! ls anybody out there?
Tantoo, it's Mike.
We're coming up the Pass. Where are you?
Approaching the upper traverse.
I got Varnay behind me with others.
They're all armed.
We've got two hours to get to Katka,
and I'm still pulling weight.
They're trying to stop us.
Yeah, we figured.
Cody always said that they cut
corners with the methane regs.
Those bastards, they caused the cave-in,
now they're trying to cover it up.
Not going to happen. Just hang on.
We're coming.
Take them out so it will pass forensics.
No bullet holes.
Do not discharge your weapons.
What?
Shit.
Oh, come on. One more mile.
We can do one more mile. Come on.
Yeah, we can do it. Come on.
Pull over!
Pull over now!
Pull over!
If they were going to shoot us,
they would've done it by now.
Yeah. Good. Come on.
Ready, bro?
Pull over now!
Well, don't just stand there. Let's go.
Come on, come on, don't stop, don't stop.
Don't you dare stop. Come on.
Don't do this to me. Don't...
Don't do this.
Come on, keep going. Don't stop, don't stop!
Come on, you piece of shit. Let's go.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it!
I didn't mean it!
Don't think that I'm not going to use this on you!
What's your game?
Oh, what, are you just going to stand there?
Yeah.
This is the last wellhead.
What are you going to do?
You going to push it
the rest of the way? Because...
if you're going to make it to Katka
before your brother stops breathing...
that's what you're going to have to do.
The other drivers are going to come.
The other drivers are dead.
Oh, my--
He ripped out my fuel equalizer.
Gurty can fix that.
We'll change out your fuel line
and siphon enough juice to get you down to Katka.
Listen...
we...
we seriously misjudged you.
Friends?
Yeah.
Hey, how long do you think
all this is going to take?
A couple of minutes.
- I know you're anxious about your brother.
- Yeah.
Cody's all I got, you know?
It's kind of like you and yours.
Yeah.
Gurty's like that commercial.
Takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin'.
That last can should do it.
He saved my life. Give him a treat.
We can't stay here and we can't back up.
- We'll have to outrun it.
- You're dreaming.
You got a better idea?
Oh! Whoo!
Oh.
Uncouple the trailer.
We got a wellhead to deliver.
Oh, jeez.
It's not as bad as it looks.
It's, uh...
It looks pretty bad, kid.
Just be fast about it.
Uh...
Like pulling out a wisdom tooth.
A wisdom tooth? Do I--
Do I look like a dentist?
Aah!
Good girl. Good girl.
Breathe. Breathe.
That's it. Good girl. Good girl.
Gurty, come and help me!
Good girl. Good girl.
Come on.
Hang tight.
Gurty and I are going to
haul your trailer off the cliff,
hook up, and head to that mine.
We still got 45 minutes.
Yeah.
Sir?
Mine Safety down in
Winnipeg wants Ren's laptops.
Fred, Mine Safety gets the laptops
when I say they get the laptops, all right?
We got a goddamn CEO to worry about.
Yeah, well, you can tell him yourself.
He'll be here in an hour.
There is nothing in
those e-mails that implicates us.
Everything was cash, so there's no paper trail.
To the authorities, this just looks like
another tragic mining accident.
Right in the morning,
we open Tunnel 6.
We remove the bodies.
We let the public hold their ritual funerals.
We weather the obligatory
occupational hazard debate.
And we open back up.
Business as usual.
Come on, Varnay, answer the goddamn phone.
Look, Gurty, we did it.
We did it!
Mike. Mike.
Give me that pistol!
Gurty, you got to take the wheel.
Come on. You can do it.
Do not stop until you reach the mine, got it?
Do not stop.
Hey. Kill him.
Not for me, for my brother.
I've done this a thousand times.
Move. I can do it.
Shit.
Traction pads. Yes, go.
Oh!
Go! Come on, come on.
Shit. Shit.
Gurty, the cables are snapping!
Let's go! Come on!
Come on.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
Gurty, shut the gate!
Gurty!
Gurty?
Gurty. Gurty!
He saved the rig.
Oh, Jesus.
Mike...
you...
brother mine.
My brother.
Brother. Mine.
No, no, no, no.
No.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Deputy Minister, Jack Tager,
vice president of operations.
George Sickle, general manager.
- Gentlemen.
- Sir.
- Sickle.
- How are you, sir?
It's cold up here.
We have hot drink and food inside, sir.
How was the drive down from Gillam Airfield?
Cut the formalities, Sickle.
Tell me the situation.
Our last contact with the rescue team was 0300.
Deputy Minister, how about you?
Your man in Winnipeg. Heard anything?
Negative.
It's been 30 hours
and the wellheads haven't arrived.
I don't believe the men
are going to get out of Tunnel 6 alive.
What's that?
That's our emergency Klaxon.
Oh, my God.
Hey, welcome to Katka.
You McCann?
Yeah.
You need medical?
Everyone, on the double.
We still have a chance.
We got another one. Get me the gurney, ASAP.
There's no hurry.
We need to get that wellhead
unloaded and bolted down.
Let's go! Straight to the drill site.
Go, go, go, go!
Wellhead team, let's go! You're up!
Got it!
Wellhead is tapped and sprung.
All right, blasting team, Tunnel 6 on the double!
Young lady, you're in no condition...
I don't give a shit. You can put a Band-Aid on it.
I heard blasting,
- I'm going to find Cody.
- Tantoo. Tantoo.
What?
We're outside the oxygen window.
We didn't make it in time.
Don't say that.
Look, Gurty died so that
the miners would live, okay?
My brother is alive.
I'm going to find him. Let's go.
Someone's coming out!
Cody?
Cody?
Oh, my God!
Cody. You're alive.
Oh, my God.
You saved my life.
I had help.
Thank you.
You paid them?
You paid them to shut off their sensors?
You're disgusting.
Mr. McCann?
I'm Deputy Minister of
Natural Resources for Canada.
I want to thank you,
and offer condolences for your brother.
The company has some papers for you to sign.
We have a check for you,
and the police need your statement.
Excuse me, Mr. McCann?
We found this with your brother's things.
Thank you.
- Hey!
- Hey.
Brand-new Kenworth, huh?
Yup.
It's a good color.
In honor of Jim.
What you hauling?
Sporting goods.
Oh. Ain't that the life.
Yup. No bosses, no punching time clocks.
- Good pay rates.
- Yeah.
Well, you find yourself pining for the ice road,
you know where to find me.
Deal.
Thank you, Mike.
We ain't got much
Where I come from
We all work hard
Don't bet on good luck
Ain't no easy street
Just some gravel And a blacktop
And we hold on to
Oh, everything we got
We got grit, we got guts
We got pride We got tough
Ain't no giving up Running through our veins
Backs to the wall We'll find a way
Never say quit Never say die
Play a little rough You're doggone right
Oh, knock us down We'll come back every time
Yeah, we got fight
We don't bark much
We just hang tight
Sometimes the underdog
Got the baddest bite
It's how we were born
How we were raised
From our boots To our last names
We got grit, we got guts
We got pride We got tough
Ain't no giving up Running through our veins
Backs to the wall We'll find a way
Never say quit Never say die
Play a little rough Yeah, you're doggone right
Knock us down We'll come back every time
Oh, knock us down
We'll come back Every time
Oh, knock us down
We'll come back Every time
Oh, we got fight
Hell, we got fight
Oh, oh
We got fight
I'm gonna rise
From the dust and the ashes
I reach for the sky
It's all coming down
It's all coming down
This life I've been living
I'll leave on the ground
It's all coming down
As sure as this world
Won't stop turning around
Morning will bring
A brand-new beginning
A new song to sing
And the trumpet will sound
All around
And I'll see that sweet
John's soul coming down
It's all coming down
As sure as this world
Won't stop turning around