Review of All Is Lost (2013) by Arth J — 02 Jan 2019

Surviving Spirit.

All Is Lost.

Chandor's attention seeking concept is a spark only at ignition, for a tale as such that is supposed to grow on you, merely settles for a qualified score. As far as the idea is concerned, it surely is the ultimate dream for any maker to pull off a heist as such without uttering a single word. And lopping off all the hokum of the supportive stems or extra branches cloaked as the background tale or the characterization of the character, the makers are aiming for the root and nothing else. This fragile raw core of the film is through and through, which is also the reason there is no grittiness in the narration.

Addition to that there is very little romance between Redford and the nature, there is a physical distance between them, a void that cannot be filled. Since no matter how much they may not get along and resist each other's existence, the tug of war ought to have a rope as a medium to hold on to. Nevertheless, these few limitations are overcome by brilliant execution and stunning performance. Redford as the only person visible on screen has all the challenge and none the competition.

Evolving on his own terms, Redford is floating in his own bubble, chewing out the material and savoring all the sweetness, his majestic performance is the soul reason this movie survives on communicating the high stakes to its viewers. In such avant-garde concept, the sheer pressure is directed towards the grip of the storytelling in order to hold the audience at its best, and with Chandor's stability and easiness, it manages to check off that item successfully. All Is Lost is everything to be gained from, from Redford's argumentative expressive face to Chandor's busyness in a boat, the film survives.