There is no denying that J.C. Chandor is certainly one of the directors to watch for the next couple of years. Besides a couple of short film, Chandor did not really have a lot of his work in the mainstream but he certainly took peoples’ breath away with his debut feature, the remarkable Margin Call.
Backed by Zachary Quinto’s company, Before the Door productions, Quinto himself produced the film that boasted a cast many would die to cast in their first feature including Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci among other stellar performers. Margin Call told the story of 24 hours at an investment bank at the beginning of the financial crisis.
Even though there is a hell of a lot of “banker talk” through Margin Call with some pretty specific references to the beginning of the international meltdown, it still manages to produce some amazing performances in a film which essentially features little emotion. Chandor obviously had a gift, a gift that would soon be noticed.
All is Lost couldn’t be further from Margin Call, the story of one man on his yacht in one big epic survival story. Redford plays the man who is stranded in the Indian ocean after his yacht collides with a shipping container. After patching up the damage to the boat, our man is left without contact with the outside world with his radio destroyed. Taking on water and running low on supplies, he does all he can to continue surviving.
The yacht, however, is unable to last under the pressure. After a particularly harrowing storm scene, our man is forced to abandon ship and take up residence in a life boat. But can he survive with no one knowing his location and running out of food? You will have to wait an uncomfortable 106 minutes to find out.
We were waiting for All is Lost for quite a long time and were really hoping that it would live up to the Redford hype. Now we can honestly tell you that it does. Redford is the only cast member, a man who utters about four lines of dialogue over the entire film but that doesn’t make it any less interesting, in fact, All is Lost is one of the most involving films you will ever watch and that is its massive achievement.
Not only will the absence of other cast members and the silence contribute to the uncomfortable watching of this film, you will never stop rooting for our man, even when you will feel like all is lost, you will never give up on him. However, the storms are beautifully staged, particularly the scene where the boat turns an entire 360 before making it to the surface again.
The soundtrack, which would only play in the background for most films, is instrumental for the film, creating feelings of panic and fear which will just make the entire viewing process way more awkward.
However, Redford pulls the entire project together, conveying everything with one glance, occasionally one word or very few actions. His performance is not just brilliant, it’s absolutely astounding considering the project is just one man and his yacht. He will be entirely deserving of the Oscar nomination he will receive.
An absolute must see, but try not to eat beforehand. You will be seasick.
