Review of All Is Lost (2013) by Ivan S — 31 May 2014

First, you must admire what Robert Redford has done for independent filmmaking through his Sundance projects. Second, 'Jeremiah Johnson' is one of my favorite movies. Third, I love movies about isolated characters struggling for survival. But with those points out of the way, this is not a must-see movie. It is certainly not "DAZZLING" as proclaimed on the poster.

What is presented is actually three characters, the seafaring loner, the sea, and the boat. The latter two are quite convincing. The first, not so much. The deadpan silence that worked so well in 'Jeremiah Johnson' does not work here with a modern character. This man, alone on a boat, is the only person in the world who doesn't talk to himself - even when facing his own mortality. Just because there are no scripted words doesn't mean that a character shouldn't speak - it means that the words have to come from the actor responding genuinely to the situation and that is where this project falls short.

There are some good moments, but the praise that has been lavished on Redford for this performance is based on nostalgic hero worship and not an unbiased judgement.