The Old Man and the Sea
/All is Lost
Written & Directed by: JC Chandor
Starring: Robert Redford
Seeing Robert Redford on the big screen again was such a pleasure. Other than a film he did last year with Shia LeBeouf (which I didn’t care to see), it has been six years since his last film - the decent Lions for Lambs. He carries with him, and always has, an individual presence that flows into the characters he portrays. Handsomely rugged, Redford is all charm, humility, and warmth giving his characters an instant relatability without needing to try. This, however, cannot always save a film as is the case with All is Lost, a story derived from The Old Man and the Sea, about a man who is, well, lost at sea. Though well directed by JC Chandor (Margin Call), All is Lost asks that you relate to a character purely based on the circumstances he is in. Is that enough? For me, no, it is not.
The film opens with Redford asleep on his sailboat, in the middle of the ocean far from any sort of landfall. He is awoken by a crashing noise, which happens to be his ship ramming into some drifting cargo. This easily causes a hole in the side of his boat that must quickly be repaired. Thus begins the series of unfortunate events in which Redford’s character (credited only as Our Man) must make a slew of quick life saving decisions. Alone. Redford commits 100% to the character and while this makes for a fascinating watch, it quickly becomes tedious when you realize you know nothing about who is, where he’s from, or (most importantly) what he has to live for. After a certain amount of time it’s clear there are two obvious choices - he either lives or dies. The problem is the outcome becomes irrelevant. At this realization, you’re waiting for the movie to wrap up but you know that there’s still a ways to go. One admiral part of the film is it’s complete lack of dialogue, allowing Redford to portray someone through actions and reactions. Yet, this means there is no chance of backstory, no small glimpse into who this man is.
The other issue with the film is each problem that befalls Our Man is too similar to the one before. There are only so many incidents involving weather or leaks before you get bored. I suppose there are only so many different incidents that can happen at sea and aside from a shark attack, Chandor (who also wrote the film), perhaps felt too limited in his options. Once you see him successfully navigate through one storm you don’t need, or care to, to see it again. Perhaps this was done to fill up time that normally would have gone to back story and character development. It was a conscious choice to give the audience no additional information, instead solely focusing the film on Our Man’s survival.
While the argument can be made that survival is a universally understood need, that’s not quite enough for me. Yes, we all want to survive, but if I don’t know what it is your surviving for than I’m ready to move on. The film asks that you invest two hours with someone, but it doesn’t give you the chance to know them. It doesn’t invest in you, the audience. Don’t take me on a ride and not tell me what the stakes are, even if that ride is with Robert Redford.