By Brett Blake Being lost at sea is probably not an experience with which many of us are personally familiar. We may have read stories - or seen movies - about it, but to actually be in a predicament like that is something else entirely. I bring this up because J.C. Chandor’s ALL IS LOST feels so incredibly authentic, so realistic, that I almost wonder if any of it comes from personal experience. I doubt it does, of course, but it’s a testament to Chandor’s writing and direction that the film conveys such a high degree of verisimilitude. It’s a powerful movie, tense and often beautiful, and it’s anchored (if you’ll pardon the pun) by one of the finest performances of Robert Redford’s storied career. Redford is the film’s only character, an unnamed sailor (the Internet Movie Database’s page for this film lists him, somewhat charmingly, as “Our Man”) whose boat collides with a massive, adrift shipping container; this collision damages Redford’s boat (and, worst of all, the radio), and though he’s able to make some basic repairs, it’s pretty much too late. A string of near-calamities follow, forcing our lone hero to do whatever he can to find a way to survive. No more need be said on the plot front. It’s a man-against-the-elements tale, and while it’s not the first such story to make its way to cinema screens, it’s certainly one of the best - it’s completely engrossing all the way through. As I alluded to, this is truly a one-man show, and Robert Redford is more than up to the task. It’s a mostly (almost entirely) silent performance, which is refreshing; lesser films would have likely resorted to adding in a voice-over narration, or - far worse yet - had the character just start talking to himself in an unrealistic way. But here, it’s just Redford’s face and body language that are used to get across what the character is feeling, and Redford nails it. It helps, too, that age has bestowed upon him a weathered visage, which fits perfectly in line with the nearly-archetypal “Old Man and the Sea” idea. Redford also deserves praise for taking on what is a pretty physically-demanding role; he’s tossed around cabins and bulkheads, as well as over the side into the sea (several times), and although I’m sure some strategically-placed stuntmen were on hand, it looks like it’s really Redford getting in there and doing the work. It’s not a showy or flashy performance (some might call it the definition of restrained), but it’s so much more compelling and effective than if we had somebody going all histrionic with the part. On a technical level, ALL IS LOST is a step-up in nearly every way from writer/director Chandor’s previous film, 2011’s very solid MARGIN CALL. Chandor stages a lengthy storm sequence that’s as accomplished - on a sheer production level - as any huge-budget “event” picture, but this movie’s smaller scale actually allows the sequence to have even more of an impact. It’s as harrowing and just-plain-scary as anything I’ve seen this year (right up there with the other great “lost in a hostile environment” film of 2013, GRAVITY). Similarly, the cinematography - both above and below the water - also impresses; for the most part, it feels pretty stripped-down, but then the movie gives us some absolutely beautiful visuals, from distant sunsets, to overhead shots of the vastness of the ocean, to sharks and schools of fish circling under Redford’s vessel. Continuing on the technical front, I’ve got to praise the element that I found to be the most impressive of all: the sound design. Given that the film eschews dialogue for the most part, that increases the burden on the other parts of the sound mix to really hit home, and they do. It’s a dense sound track - the flapping and flutter of the sails, the creaks and groans of the boat, the rush and crash of the waves… it’s as accomplished a mix as I’ve heard in a long time, and by rights it should not only be nominated for an Academy Award come Oscar time, it should win. The sound is that good. I want to touch briefly on two final points. The first concerns the shipping container that kicks off all of Redford’s problems. Unless I’m very mistaken (which, in the interest of full disclosure, has been known to happen), we’re meant to ascertain that it’s of Chinese origin, given certain markings and phrasing on its side. Now, when I consider the fact that Chandor’s previous film dealt with the personal consequences of international banking and finance malfeasance, I get the sense that he’s a director not above making some kind of “statement,” however veiled and subtextual it may be. Could he be trying to say something about China’s emerging global dominance and the threat that could pose? Perhaps. It’s more likely, of course, that I’m reading something into nothing, and that I’m just seeing what I want to see, but I think it’s an interesting connection, nonetheless. Last point: I brought up GRAVITY earlier in this review, and as I think back about ALL IS LOST, it really does strike me that it bears a kind of kinship with both GRAVITY and, strange as it may seem, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS. It’s connected to GRAVITY in the way they depict one person’s resourcefulness and capacity for survival in terrifying and hostile conditions; it’s connected to CAPTAIN PHILLIPS in the way their stories are - essentially - entirely brought about by an incident involving the global shipping industry, and how one man must keep his wits together to survive at sea. The three films are soul mates of a kind, and they share one other very important characteristic: they're all among the very best that cinema has had to offer so far this year.
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