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| Google Images 2014 |
This 2013
film was written and directed by J. C. Chandor and stars Robert Redford. That’s
it, just Robert Redford. Of course, Redford has long been one of our finest
actors, and even though he’s now 77-years- old, he can still act rings around
most of today’s much younger actors. He’s also still good-looking, though not
nearly as dashingly handsome as he was in his prime, for instance, in The Electric Horseman, in which he
starred opposite Jane Fonda.
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| Google Images 2014 |
Of course, Fonda was also much younger and
better looking at that time, though she’s still an attractive woman, thanks to
being able to afford the best cosmetic surgeons, makeup artists, and
hairdressers in the world. What’s more, like Fonda, Redford is obviously still physically
fit since, according to Wikipedia (2014), he reportedly performed many of his own
stunts in this film.
Redford is
always watchable. Moreover, this movie keeps your attention, and you find
yourself rooting for his character to survive because he sure puts up one heck
of a fight to survive and against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Plot of the
Movie All Is Lost
First, let me
warn you that we never learn the name of Redford’s character, and whoever he
is, he has very little to say, since there’s no dialogue in the movie, well,
that is other than the line, which consists of maybe three sentences, that the nameless man says in the beginning
and a few expletives he utters out of frustration. Of course, according to Wikipedia
(2014) the movie’s script consisted of only 31 pages, so Chandor is to blame
for this lack of dialogue, not Redford..
That said, to
summarize the plot, All Is Lost is
the story of a nameless man (he is obviously a rich nameless man since he owns
a big fancy boat), who wakes up after a nap only to discover that his big fancy
boat is sinking. Apparently the boat has collided with a huge shipping
container that has been drifting around in the ocean. How it got there, we’ll
never know. When the container rammed the man’s boat, it ripped a hole in the
hull; plus, the boat’s communication and navigational systems were severely damaged.
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| Google Images 2014 |
The man
attempts to fix the systems, but when he climbs the mast to repair the antenna,
he glimpses an ominous cloud on the horizon. It’s a tropical storm, and the
storm is headed in his direction. Now, his fight for survival begins, and it
intensifies from this moment on. Just when you think he might make it, another
calamity befalls him, each more intense than the other, until he has no option
but to abandon ship and take refuge in a lifeboat. Of course, now he’s adrift
on the ocean and totally at the mercy of the currents and the weather.
Okay, before
I continue, I have a question: Just what is this man doing on a huge boat all
by himself in the middle of the ocean? That is never explained in the course of
the film. Then again, I guess we’re supposed to use our imaginations. All
right, I’ll use mine: Maybe this wealthy nameless guy is trying to get away
from his five ex-wives, all of whom are demanding more alimony. Or maybe he
went to check on his boat, which was moored in the local marina, but he got
drowsy, the way elderly people sometimes do in the afternoon, went below deck,
fell into deep slumber, and the boat somehow came loose from its mooring and
drifted out to sea. Then, he woke up and said, “Oops!”
All right
enough imagining. Back to the review: According to Wikipedia (2014), the movie received critical acclaim mainly
because, as the film review site “Rotten Tomatoes” says, “All Is Lost offers a moving, eminently
worthwhile testament to Robert Redford's ability to hold the screen."
Well, yes, as I said before, Redford is a fine actor. In fact, he’s one of the
greats. And the movie is compelling and watchable. But it would be better if we
knew the man’s name and just why he’s all alone on a big boat in the middle of
the ocean. Moreover, it would be nice if he’d talk to someone, even himself. If
I wanted to see a silent movie, I’d watch one.
Rating: See-
Again but only after a few years have passed and I’ve forgotten the plot.
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