Thanks so much for your lovely comments @dswigle - and for the tip! I agree so much with what you say, and that's one reason I wanted to write the review. It's the kind of film that may well appear depressing at first glance, yet it's anything but. I went to it as a climbing fan, because I'd heard that this man had been a great climber - but that's just a small part of it. He has done so many great things in his life.
In a way, it wasn't just Hamish, but the audience that challenged my perceptions. Most of them seemed to be well-dressed elders, and I stupidly imagined that there would be few climbers among them (despite the fact that people of all ages climb at our local climbing centre). There was a Q&A session at the end, and many of the older people who took the mike had actually climbed with Hamish MacInnes in the past.
Many of these stereotypes come from the media, PR and advertising. We need to constantly remind ourselves that elders are people who have led long lives full of adventure :)