All Is Lost

All Is Lost

“All is Lost”, the second movie by writer-director J. C. Chandor following 2011’s “Margin Call”, is a great film, but that’s about all it has in common with his first one. For his debut feature which got him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay Chandor crafted a claustrophobic ensemble drama about the collapse of a Lehman Brothers like firm, told through ornate, slightly clunky dialogue. In this new one, there’s only Robert Redford as a man stuck on a sailboat in the Indian Ocean who doesn’t say much.

This filmmaker’s rigorous approach to conflict and drama deepens with each successive obstacle due to his technical skill and formal rigor as well as an absolutely killer performance from Redford, who exudes the kind of righteous no bullshit intensity you expect from someone willing to cross oceans alone in a boat. “All is Lost” is a reminder that even after all these years Robert Redford remains one of our greatest actors and also that J.C. Chandor is one of our most exciting filmmakers maybe ever, and it made me feel really bad for hating “Margin Call” so much.

The movie begins with a voiceover narration by Redford’s character (he’s listed in the credits as Our Man), who writes an apology letter to someone we can’t see or hear or know anything else about except that Our Man feels very sorry for whatever happened between them at some undetermined point before now. Is this note meant for a lover? A passerby who might happen upon it someday somehow? God?

Who knows! And what’s amazing is: Who cares?! One of “All Is Lost” smartest creative choices is its lack of backstory; there are no scenes depicting peaceful times on land where Our Man was king of all he surveyed nor any half-baked yarns about playground accidents gone wrong (I’m looking at you, “Gravity”).

A flashback to eight days earlier shows the initial cause of Our Man’s problems: He wakes up one morning to find that a stray shipping container has gouged a huge hole in the side of his sailboat. At first he doesn’t seem too fazed by this setback, but his stoicism is quickly tested when a series of massive storms rolls through, proving once again that the ocean is indeed an unforgiving mistress.

To say any more about what happens would ruin the pleasure of watching this incredible movie (in fact, don’t even watch the trailer if you haven’t seen it yet; just go in cold). JC Chandor and Robert Redford have made a modern masterpiece together here a survival story that honors not only its lone character and his natural obstacles but also you, the viewer.

Chandor knows how to use Redford: his sun-damaged visage, implacable resolve, alienation from the whimsies of “regular” life. In turn, Redford gives us the performance of his later years in a part that is not just physically grueling but emotionally punishing as well. Both men are aided immeasurably by cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco, whose work creates such distinct spaces between topside vastness and below decks claustrophobia; and Alex Ebert’s score is sparingly deployed with devastating effectiveness.

There is no doubt that “All is Lost” is open to being seen as a direct representation of life due to its minimalism. One way to interpret it this way is because without doubt, people will continue arguing about what happens at the end of the movie in future years since it represents such major shift both structurally and thematically. However, we would be missing out on something if all conversations revolved around its closing scenes because the truth is every part of this film is brilliant. It’s like Tennyson’s “Ulysses” in terms of being a great work with spiritual connection. Indeed, “All Is Lost” deserves all accolades!

Watch All Is Lost For Free On Gomovies.