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All Is Lost

Starring: Robert Redford
Directed by: J.C. Chandor
Screenplay by: J.C. Chandor

Robert Redford is lost at sea.  Please somebody rescue him!  He's a terrific actor!!
     Imagine Life of Pi without the tiger in the boat.  It's just a man and his thoughts while he is lost at sea.  All Is Lost is pretty much exactly that.  Robert Redford's character, known only as "the man", is sailing by himself when his boat is struck by a floating cargo container, ripping a massive hole in the side of the boat and causing lots of water to rush in, but not fully sinking the boat.  After suffering this blow and going through a massive storm, the boat eventually sinks, leaving the man stranded at sea in his life raft, waiting to be rescued.  Will he survive?
     I'm a big fan of a simple story.  I don't like to think too much about a movie's story unless the story calls for audiences to think.  All Is Lost is perhaps the simplest storyline I've ever seen in a movie.  The script for the film is only 32 pages long and only has a few lines of dialogue.  But the story seems too simple for me because the only character doesn't even have a name or a story.  All the audience knows is that he is lost at sea and he is a skilled sailor.  Everything we know about him is what we see on screen.
     Robert Redford delivers an outstanding performance, even though he only says a few lines in the whole film.  All of his expressions are shown on his face.  It's one of the strongest acting performances of the year and I suspect he will be nominated for Best Actor.
     This film is similar to Gravity in that it's a really intense disaster movie.  It's not quite as intense as Gravity because it's far slower paced and there's a lot more time for the audience to catch its breath in between intense scenes.  This is still one of those movies where you'll be on the edge of your seat a lot of the time, but sadly not for the entire duration of the film.  And that's okay because there are a few other movies that will have you on the edge of your seat for just about the entire time, like Gravity or Captain Phillips.  But All Is Lost is a more emotional story because it's not ever clear that he will be rescued.  You'll just have to see the movie if you want to find out if the man ever gets rescued.  Once again, we have another movie that is not to be missed.  I strongly recommend seeing All Is Lost if you can find it (it's in limited release so it may be difficult to find a theater that's playing it) and it's totally worth the money.
      I give All Is Lost an A.

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