Without much context for his voyage in the South Pacific, Robert Redford pretty much is Robert Redford in All Is Lost. This means he’s not a character but rather the famous actor himself.
And why not? We meet a man sailing through beautiful waters with a wedding ring on his finger, yet alone on a yacht packed with supplies enough to enable him stay hidden from public eye for quite some time. Consequently, by treating it as though it were Redford, and nothing else save for this manufactured characterization of the film being stripped away, All Is Lost becomes an incredibly moving statement about what human spirit really is. Behold: an old man who still calls himself ‘’badass,’’ engaging nature directly.
Redford pulls it off, not missing a beat despite Murphy’s Law pummeling him into submission. His problems start small: one morning there is a shipping container packed with sneakers lodged through the side of his boat.
Water gushes into the lower cabin like blood from an open wound. Duct tape holds it together until red patches are sewn up over crack doped paste and cloth; however, he is vulnerable now – and at the worst possible moment. In the distance there is another storm approaching.
J.C. Chandor, the director of Margin Call that was his debut film and its stars were numerous as well as his shaky cam that was too close to reality during the crisis on Wall Street in 2008, is fully in charge of the storyline this time around. His style is simple and yet his camera always stands at a right angle.
The options are limited when one is trapped aboard but Redford takes him into action; gradually the author distances from close shots and gives way to vast expanses and deep waters; without being premonitory, he abruptly switches — a map, a radio set, that hole and water pouring out — to a close-up which makes the image tremble like a bell resounding inside Redford.
The actor, who has just turned 77, still looks like a dashing man that can’t make mistakes. However, as soon as the rain starts and waves crash on Redford when he pulls ropes in order to maintain control of the ship; the movie star turns out to be a mortal being. His already existing lines are cut into by seawater and his face is instantly oldened. The film’s boldness only increases with time as Redford hovers above water on a raft, catching fish in the sun and seeing how he will die someday.This is enchanting.
Even smallest choices become obviously important in All Is Lost, which makes it one of the most fundamental films ever. Without such a dilapidated boat design that seems worn out and broken bit by bit but slowly during its course of events, this picture would never be so emotional. The soundtrack done by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros Alex Ebert complements this grand destructive scene with haunting strings layered over guitar plucks. Sometimes it feels very religious too.
All is lost as a movie that longs to be more and more either for reason or logic or thematic allegory. It however decides to go with the basics approach, which has its own issues even if it depends on the ethereal and the unknown towards the end. But this is good news for those who want to have an experience. It is a movie about innate instincts that every individual keeps within himself all through this 21st century of technology. Until we need them, they aren’t abilities which we have like when our ships reach d‟horizon lointain de la mort.
Verdict
In All is Lost, against all odds tale by Margin Call director, Robert Redford gives his best yet most intimate performance ever.
Watch free movies on Fmovies
