All Is Lost

I have seen a few movies with limited cast members but this is the first film I have ever seen with just one cast member. Robert Redford does have the ability to carry a whole movie thankfully. "All Is Lost" also has less dialogue than any other film I have seen (too bad one of the words was vulgar). Redford hardly says anything during the whole show and that might not appeal to some. While the movie was very well made and the realism was particularly noteworthy, the film was slow. Other survival movies like "Cast Away" had more suspense and better narratives. The story of this show is good but I am familiar with it already.

The filmmakers did more than enough to make this show unique from such survival films as "Cast Away" but in doing so, they lost suspense. The story of "All Is Lost" is very similar on the other hand to the true-life experience of Steven Callahan. His book, "Adrift: 76 Days Lost At Sea", is a New York Times bestseller. The resemblance between the two narratives is too much for me to fully enjoy this movie because I once saw a TV episode portraying Callahan's adventure. The biggest difference was the ending of both survival stories. The ending of "All Is Lost" did keep me guessing so that was good. Also, "All Is Lost" takes place in the Indian Ocean while Callahan was lost on the Atlantic. I just couldn't get Callahan out of my head while watching this show because of all the similarities. It was hard for me to become emotionally invested in the film due to the lack of dialogue as well. If I were lost at sea, I would be talking to myself a lot. I am also a traditional storyteller and so I did have small problems with the fact that the film begins with the inciting incident. The movie has little exposition and denouement but that is on purpose. The sense of realism in the film is something to be applauded though. While Redford did an amazing job, his fame and persona was such that I didn't see an original character. It felt instead as if Redford had found himself in this predicament. The Golden Globe-winning musical score was such that you didn't notice it some of the time. It did its job so well that you don't even become aware of the first time you hear it in the film. "All Is Lost" was filmed at Baja Studios, which was first built for the movie "Titanic". The cinematography and special effects were such that you believe you are in the middle of the ocean. The only two names I recognized in the credits were Redford and actor Zachary Quinto from "Star Trek", who acts as the executive producer of "All Is Lost".

As mentioned, this film won the Golden Globe for Best Musical Score. Composer Alex Ebert was nominated alongside Hans Zimmer & John Williams and so his win is impressive. This film also got an Oscar nomination for Sound Editing and I agree with its inclusion in that category. "Life of Pi" was all about the visuals whereas the focus of this movie was on its main character. The cinematic decisions made for "All Is Lost" are important to making it special but they did not resonate with me unfortunately. This story was a familiar one to me but other moviegoers may think otherwise. Just because a movie is well made, doesn't mean it will appeal to everyone.

3 Stars