The concept of one person being stranded in the middle of nowhere for a whole movie and attempting to return home isn’t exactly new.
Tom Hanks made a companion out of a volleyball in “Cast Away,” Ryan Reynolds was locked inside a coffin for all of “Buried,” and Sandra Bullock was stuck in the middle of space throughout “Gravity.”
The latest victim of survival is one of the most famous and respected faces in cinema, Robert Redford. In a film that is part adventure flick, part drama and practically a silent movie, Redford is literally the only actor and living person seen in J.C. Chandor’s “All Is Lost.” Redford began his career playing charming and courageous characters in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting” and “Out of Africa,” but in his latest acting accomplishment, he is at the most helpless and desperate audiences have ever seen him.
While napping on his boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a man with no name (Redford) awakes to find an abandoned shipping container has struck the side of his boat. For the next hour and forty minutes, we follow his struggle to survive a rapidly growing hole sinking his boat with a shoddy radio, a half day’s rations and an inflatable safety raft.
Chandor delivers his sophomore effort behind the camera with “All Is Lost” after a modest success with the political ensemble piece “Margin Call” (2011). From directing a whole group of movie stars inside a bank, to shooting Redford all by himself surrounded by water, his works could not be any more different from each other. From start to finish, there is only a little over a full minute of dialogue from Redford’s character. The only sounds in the movie come from the boat, the ocean and a hauntingly beautiful score by Alex Ebert (aka Edward Sharpe of the Magnetic Zeros). If it weren’t for the efforts from camera crew and editors in post-production, this could have been just stock camera footage with how much the feature depends on Redford and Chandor.
Unlike “Cast Away,” which was always on the edge of unintentional camp with the ‘character’ of Wilson, or “Gravity,” which included a supporting actor for the first half of the film, “All Is Lost” exposes the power of one. With the audience only allowed to focus its attention on Redford for almost two hours, the actor has a lot of responsibility to keep them intrigued. He not only succeeds in a devastatingly, subtle performance, but reminds everyone that he was and is not just a pretty face. “All Is Lost” is not just a one-man visual fest, but also a good example of the importance of the actor-director relationship.
mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer who began contributing reviews for Picket Fence Media, a Southern California print and online local news publisher. She also contributes other entertainment related features and articles. She is a graduate of Cal State University, Northridge, where she studied film criticism and screenwriting.
All is Lost
Roadside Attractions presents a film written and directed by J.C. Chandor. Starring Robert Redford. Running time: 107 minutes. Rated: PG-13 (for brief strong language).
“All is Lost” is playing at The Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. Check www.animascitytheatre.com or call 799-2241 for show times.
