ALL IS LOST is simple, it is complex, it is epic, it is basic, it is constantly wet and most of all it is supremely brilliant. It is a day or two in the life of a sailor named (or more unnamed) “Our Man,” played by Robert Redford, after his yacht runs into a semi-submerged container in the middle of the ocean. He is alone, he has a hole in his boat, it is sinking and this is what he does from that moment forward. ALL IS LOST releases on March 6th in Australia, it is rated M and runs for 105mins.

 

 

This film makes you watch two things, one of them is your biggest nightmare, being alone facing possible doom with no form of help available but yourself, your intelligence and your ingenuity and quick thinking. The other is a documentary of the person who would flourish in the first part, an excellent sailor with a good head, a man who keeps calm and does everything correct step by step but gets constantly raped by the evil wrath of the sea. It is mesmerising to watch and should be a training video for all sailors, especially the 12yr olds who keep wanting to sail solo around the world. If something is going to go wrong, if everything is going to go against you this is what will happen.

 

 

Redford is the only person in the film, he is in every scene so if you don’t like him (Mum) then don’t watch it, but if like me you love Redford you will find this film bordering on perfection. He does no huge scenes that deserve an Oscar, he just is, he is the Old Man on The Sea, bobbing towards impending destruction. Is there anything stand out by his performance? Not a thing, and this is what makes it so brilliant, there is no Redford, there is just “Our Man”. There is no acting noticed, just some old dude running the motions to keep alive.

A lot of people will hate this film because it is basically dialogue free. Redford hardly says anything besides a couple of “Maydays” on the radio, a couple of screams for hello and one well deserved screaming of the word “fuck.” The rest is just watching him in perfect volatile solitude fighting every second for his life. Think Life of Pi without the glamour, the religion, the hallucinations or the animals. It is a man, a boat and a shitload of water.

 

 

Other people will dislike this film because they will find it boring and will have thoughts like “well he got in the situation'” “what would you be doing in the middle of nowhere anyway,” and these people will be the same people that have to have company constantly, who cannot be alone, would go insane reading a book, this is not me. The open space, the expansiveness and this solitude are what I crave, I love staring at the ocean and can do it for hours but would never have the courage required to sail into the unknown by myself. I think this is a lack of faith in my abilities out of my comfort zone but “Our Man,” whether he wanted it or not, is that guy who will do anything for survival and keep a level head.

 

 

The director, J.C. Chandor brought us the big business film MARGIN CALL, I enjoyed that film but found it a bit complex and convoluted with so many characters, I lost interest by the end. This is his second film and he has gone from a film with a cast of many to a cast of one. In fact this is the only film in history with a cast of one, one director who is also the writer, but seventeen producers and executive producers. The crew is also HUGE. Another bit of trivia I liked, but also found incredibly ironic, the Chinese characters shown on the container (which is supposed to be the name of the shipping company) in the beginning actually mean “good fortune”.

There was one thing I disliked about this film, that lost it its perfect score. It is the end. I will not tell you about it, you need to see it, but it is not what I wanted. Can’t rave about this film enough – see it when it releases taking heed of my warnings above. Redford, you’ve still got it old guy.

 

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