"Anchored by another tremendous performance in a career full of them, All Is Lost offers a moving, eminently worthwhile testament to Robert Redford's ability to hold the screen."
Production on this movie started in early 2012 following the critical success of writer and director J. C. Chandor’s 2011 film Margin Call. The film was a smash at the Sundance Film Festival of that year, and sparked the interest of festival patron and founder Robert Redford. Following Chandor’s commute to and from New York during the film’s shoot, the idea of a lone sailor surviving a damaged sailboat all alone came into being. The film was shot on a budget of roughly $9,000,000 (IMDB) and employed the use of sound stages at Baja Studios in Mexico that were built specifically for James Cameron’s Titanic in 1997. With Redford cast as the unnamed and only character in the film, the movie was cut and dried ready for the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2013. Redford received a standing ovation after its screening, and critics reveled in the genius of a film lead entirely by a silent Redford. No dialogue, an experimental score by Alex Ebert (front man for the indie folk band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), and countless nominations from multiple Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes. All Is Lost seemed like a breath of fresh ocean air in a sea of distasteful garbage from Hollywood.
Or at least that was what Redford was getting at after he told the Cannes audience, that this film represented a simplicity that has been lacking in an America that has lost it’s way over the last five decades. The 77-year-old actor stated this in response to questioning:
"We are in a dire situation; the planet is speaking with a very loud voice. In the US we call it Manifest Destiny, where we keep pushing and developing, never mind what you destroy in your wake, whether it’s Native American culture or the natural environment.
"I've also seen the relentless pace of technological increase. It's getting faster and faster; and it fascinates me to ask: how long will it go on before it burns out."
"This film is about having none of that: all you have is a man, a boat and the weather, nothing but the elements. That's it."
Redford was certainly right, and couldn’t have expressed many of our concerns in the way our world is developing with more bravado and honesty. But getting back to the notion that this film is exactly “a man, a boat and the weather”, forget about witnessing a survival film like Cast Away or Life of Pie, and think more of a documentary on survival situations but on mute. Despite a nomination and win for Best Original Score at the 71st Golden Globes, the score is practically non-existent through most of the film, making its appearance almost strange in places. Although this is a deliberate technique so that the audience feels connected to Redford’s isolation and struggle, his performance completely undermines the cinematic nuance. Redford seems so stiff in places (mainly his face) that you can’t gain any emotions from the character. Despite the action sequences and storms really hitting hard, from one scene to the next you’d think nothing has happened.
Redford does little to make you feel scared for him, or connect with him emotionally due to his situation. There is no name nor character development, no point of entry into this mans life or any other point of reference as to who he is. There are a few lines of opening monologue featuring the words “All is lost here” and a few seconds of hair pulling and an unconvincing “fuck!” when things go really bad. It feels like you're watching a shadow of a great actor trying something new under a director who does little to coach a good performance. A performance that is certainly not a “tour de force performance holding the screen effortlessly” as The Guardian’s Andrew Pulver described. The film is simplistic and realistic, but falls flat in so many areas. The positive critical response that the film gained set the bar so high that for this moviegoer, disappointment and confusion set in very early. You wait the entire film for Redford to really let loose, after all his character is in a critical situation in which he could die, and yet nothing of the sort happens.
It seems that a great deal of care was taken in showing that the character was well versed in sailing technique and navigational skills, but was this even satisfying to sailing enthusiasts? He plots his coordinates on a map showing us that he is in the Indian Ocean, he attempts to repair his boat, and he somehow filters seawater with a plastic jerry can and a bag that allows him to stay hydrated. If there is anything here to make the film a great watch for the sailing community, I hope it’s not at the expense of these limited marine factors. All in all, the film is extremely dull and cannot be awarded the various positive attributes that made it a hit last year. As much as I would like to add positive elements to this review, a film as disappointing as this really cannot be praised.
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