After reading a slew of rave reviews I had really high hopes for "All is Lost," particularly Redford's performance. As much as I wanted to like it, I came away somewhat disappointed. With only one character it all depends on Redford. And that's where it falls down. In one sense I agree with Scott. It was Redford playing Redford. He showed grit, determination, skill, an unwillingness to give up, supreme confidence in his own abilities. What he didn't show was emotion. Except for the one moment of the screamed epithet, he showed no fear, anger, panic, sense of desperation, all logical, even likely, in the face of his extreme peril. Even near the end of the film when all seems lost, his face showed nothing except fatigue.
It was just a sense of an older, weather-beaten, journeyman actor going through the motions.
And the film itself displayed little sense of the likely terror of the situation. It was as though the author made a checklist of terrible sea situations and portrayed one set piece after the other, allowing "Our Man" to solve each new problem. Hole in the hull; repair it; check. Waterlogged radio, clean it; possible signal, oh, darn, we'll have to try something else. Terrible storm that threatens everything; work through it; check. And as if one isn't enough, let's do it again. Loss of GPS; let's not only get out that ancient sextant but I'll teach myself how to use it; check. Loss of provisions; just fish around underwater and pull out some cans; check. No water?; I'll create an evaporation system; check. Reel in a fish; oops, grabbed by a shark; check. And so on and on.
It's the Perils of Pauline revisited, but at sea. The photography and effects were cool so it rarely got seriously boring, but after a while I wondered what he would overcome and solve next.
I wasn't particularly troubled by the lack of a back story. A man alone at sea trying to survive against the elements could make – and often has made – a great story. Just not this one.
And I even found the music over the top and too loud, particularly during the calm moments when it apparently was supposed to convey emotion that the character didn't.
I don't want to spoil the ending but even that was pretty well telegraphed. Could it have been otherwise? All in all this is one film that clearly fails to live up to its billing. I'll be really disappointed if Redford gets an Oscar nomination for this poor performance.
It was just a sense of an older, weather-beaten, journeyman actor going through the motions.
And the film itself displayed little sense of the likely terror of the situation. It was as though the author made a checklist of terrible sea situations and portrayed one set piece after the other, allowing "Our Man" to solve each new problem. Hole in the hull; repair it; check. Waterlogged radio, clean it; possible signal, oh, darn, we'll have to try something else. Terrible storm that threatens everything; work through it; check. And as if one isn't enough, let's do it again. Loss of GPS; let's not only get out that ancient sextant but I'll teach myself how to use it; check. Loss of provisions; just fish around underwater and pull out some cans; check. No water?; I'll create an evaporation system; check. Reel in a fish; oops, grabbed by a shark; check. And so on and on.
It's the Perils of Pauline revisited, but at sea. The photography and effects were cool so it rarely got seriously boring, but after a while I wondered what he would overcome and solve next.
I wasn't particularly troubled by the lack of a back story. A man alone at sea trying to survive against the elements could make – and often has made – a great story. Just not this one.
And I even found the music over the top and too loud, particularly during the calm moments when it apparently was supposed to convey emotion that the character didn't.
I don't want to spoil the ending but even that was pretty well telegraphed. Could it have been otherwise? All in all this is one film that clearly fails to live up to its billing. I'll be really disappointed if Redford gets an Oscar nomination for this poor performance.