'ALL IS LOST'

'ALL IS LOST' (PG-13) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by J.C. Chandor
Actor: Robert Redford

A lot of survival cliches came to mind while watching J.C. Chandor's "All Is Lost" and my mind raced with bleak thoughts while watching the movie. Thoughts like, I know I would be not knowing what to do and would probably be dead in two or three days if I was in the lead character's shoes. That lead is called "Our Man" and he is played by Robert Redford who, excuse the pun, is a natural fit for the story of "All Is Lost". He is sailing alone off the Indian Ocean in a small sailboat when he crashes into a cargo container, lost from a ship, which has gashed a huge hole on the side of the boat. His boat starts leaking and throughout 8 days he will have to deal with his boat falling apart and in danger of sinking, a diminishing food supply and sharks circling his boat soon to be hungry.

"All Is Lost" does a very good job of putting us on that ship with Our Man and photographing the perils that Our Man faces including a brooding storm that almost wipes everything away. I mention Redford being perfect here and not because he is a huge nature advocate. Critics in the past have called Redford a cold actor but I disagree and here I could identify with him. He might not be as endearing as a Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) but he has an everyman, rugged screen presence that feels perfect here. We can feel his frustration building as more obstacles to surviving mount and more perilous situations build. Redford never overplays his reactions, he never over emotes or over reacts to the danger in a phony way.

We forget while watching "All Is Lost" that Redford has proved himself as being a great action movie star and screen presence before. His 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson", one of Redford's best films, showed that Redford is an expert at the surviving nature, action thing. It is a very physically demanding performance and you can tell that Redford does all his stunts. It is even more impressive because Chandor makes all the perilous scenes look so effective and real that I know that Redford had to do all the physical stunts himself. Director Chandor does an excellent job at realistically capturing the danger of the storm that hits and what Redford has to do to survive. The cinematography here, underwater photography by Peter Zuccarini, and Frank G. DeMarco is beautiful and thrilling.

"All Is Lost" is not a movie that I would desire to go see again but for the one time viewing it kept me enthralled and never bored. A movie like this can get tedious but J.C. Chandor does a great job at keeping us involved with each twist and peril that befalls Our Man. Coming out around the same time as a more thrilling masterpiece like "Captain Phillips" can't help "All Is Lost" but it is a movie worth your time. You have a thrilling movie that is very effective and well directed and a movie star that strips away his vanity and gives an emotionally draining and flawless performance. Robert Redford is the perfect choice for this movie and he proves it with one of his best performances.