Tuesday, October 22, 2013

All Is Lost

Critics often argue that it is difficult to appreciate a film without fully knowing who the characters are. I read it all the time in reviews: “There wasn’t enough backstory for the character, so I couldn’t empathize with him,” “I couldn’t care about the character, because I knew nothing about him,” and the like. I’ve always felt that particular criticism was misguided. Can a movie falter because it doesn’t flesh out its characters well enough? Yes, of course. In fact, many films fail for that exact reason. But my point is, you don’t have to know the background of a character in order to appreciate them.

That’s the notion beautifully realized in J.C. Chandor’s harrowing tale All Is Lost. The film stars Robert Redford, and only Robert Redford. We never learn a thing about him as a man, including his name. We have no idea why he is 1,700 nautical miles away from shore, on a sailboat, alone. We haven’t a clue of his marital status, number of children, or professional occupation. All we know is that he is a man lost, fighting to survive.

Shortly into the film, Our Man (as he is referred to in the film’s script) is awoken by something crashing into his boat. Water begins to flood the cabin, and Our Man is sent into an immediate and irreversible struggle. We learn of the cause of the crash, but come to understand quickly that this will not be Our Man’s only challenge. Once a makeshift solution repairs the damage caused to the ship, we hear the terrifying crackle of thunder, and watch as Our Man stares in horror at the massive storm clouds headed his way.
So essentially, we have Robert Redford, lost at sea, battling the elements, for 106 relentless minutes. If the film sounds like an exercise, that’s because it is. But certainly not a tired one. In fact, there isn’t a moment in this film that is wasted. It is briskly paced, tediously detailed, and acted to utter perfection. It’s a minimalist thriller that relies on our own fears to propel its narrative. There is no narration telling us how to feel, no dialogue instructing our paranoia, no musical score swaying our emotions. There’s just Our Man and the unforgiving water.

Much has been made of the fact that the film is nearly dialogue free. And, save an appropriate bit of introductory voiceover, that fact is more or less true. Our Man mutters a few words here and there, yells once or twice, but for the most part, Redford’s acting is limited to physicality and emotional expression.
Think about it: how often is an actor required to act with his body? For every scene of the entire film? That’s what Redford is doing here; he’s summoning primal survival instinct with his aged physique. On many occasions during All Is Lost, I wanted to yell at the screen, encouraging Our Man to “Move faster!” But he can’t move faster. He’s old. He takes his time because he has to. Were the character played by a man any younger, All Is Lost wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it is.

Using the word “best” to describe a performance of such a revered and veteran actor is dangerous. So I won’t say that Our Man is the best performance Robert Redford has ever given, but I will say that it measures with the best work he’s ever done. As mentioned, we don’t know I thing about him, yet we care about his survival unconditionally. As the film progressed, I became increasingly heartbroken by the elemental failures that weakened Our Man. But my frustrations and fears wouldn’t have existed were they not initially brought to life by such a skilled pro. Much like Tom Hanks’ recent work in Captain Phillips, Robert Redford proves that an actor always has one splendid fight left in him.
Because of the modest structure of All Is Lost, credit needs to be given to everyone responsible for the technical aspects of the film. From the film’s breathtaking photography, to its haunting sound design, to its limited musical score by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros frontman Alex Ebert. Everyone works in a harmonious balance to achieve a sense of impending doom.

J.C. Chandor’s only other feature was the star-studded and very chatty financial thriller Margin Call from 2011. Margin Call was a confident debut (one that, ironically, premiered at Redford’s own Sundance Film Festival) that made me anxiously await Chandor’s next project. With All Is Lost, Chandor has seriously upped his game; taking risks that few other filmmakers would attempt. It’s the work of a director running on instinct. Instinct that has yet to steer him wrong. A-

16 comments:

  1. I really liked Margin Call as I've heard great things about this film when it came out at Cannes. The premise itself is a win for me. Robert Redford alone in the middle of the sea w/ his boat. I hope it plays here this week.

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    1. Hope you get it too. Honestly, it is nothing like Margin Call at all, but it is a very, very good film. Redford kills it here.

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  2. Good review Alex. I've not seen it yet, but I know Redford is one of the front runners this year. This reminds me James Franco's performance in 127 Hours with minimal talks (but actually Franco talked a lot). It's interesting how academy will react to no work performance.

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    1. Thanks Nika. I initially thought of Franco's work while watching this film, but what Redford does here is so superior to Franco's performance in that film (and I was a fan). Very, very audacious acting.

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  3. I loved Margin Call but somehow missed that this film had the same director. I'm a huge Edward Sharpe fan, so I was gonna check it out just to see how Alex did, but, now, I'm super excited.

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    1. It doesn't have much in common with Margin Call, but it's a great little flick all the same. And Ebert's score is tops!

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  4. It's interesting to see Chandor do a movie like as silent and naturalistic as this, just after doing something as talky and stagey like Margin Call. Still, the transition doesn't matter because this is still a great movie, with an even better performance from Redford who, believe it or not, is really worth watching when he isn't talking and just looking and trying to survive. Good review Alex.

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  5. I'm a fan of J.C. Chandor and "Margin Call", but simply love Robert Redford. The fact that he is referred to as "Our Man" seems most appropriate. He's been Our Man for an awfully long time....Our Man of acting, directing....Our Man of Sundance....Our Man of independent film. Even at 77 years old, he continues to show us all he can do. Next up for him, a role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Can you believe it?

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    1. I think he'll bring some much needed bravado to that Captain American sequel. Our Man simply can do no wrong in All is Lost. I think you'll love him in it.

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  6. “There wasn’t enough backstory for the character, so I couldn’t empathize with him,” “I couldn’t care about the character, because I knew nothing about him,” and the like.

    Yes! A hundred thousand times, yes! Every time I sense the critic is about to go down that road I feel sick. For the life of me, I don't understand that argument. Different movies do different things, and some movies aren't going for convenient or ready made empathy. They want to be patient, they want empathy to be earned, they want empathy to be untraditional.

    I confess I didn't read past the first paragraph because I want to go in cold (I'll come back after!) but when I saw those lines, I couldn't not comment. Your writing never fails to warm my heart, Alex.

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    1. Ah man, thanks so much for this comment. Your comments always encourage the hell out of me. I don't blame you for not reading more - I never read reviews before I see a flick.

      But doesn't that argument just suck? It's like... dig deeper, man.

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  7. Great review. I'm a fan of Margin Call, so I can't wait for this one. The minimalist approach sounds wonderful, and Redford certainly looks phenomenal in the role.

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    1. Thanks man. Between Hanks, Redford and Ejiofor, we're going to have a hell of a best actor race this year.

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  8. This sounds like a very interesting but difficult movie to watch. I'm definitely going to check it out, I suspect Redford will get a nomination for this one.

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    1. I'm certain he will too. He's so good. It actually isn't difficult at all. Never once boring. I really enjoyed it.

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