Viewed in
2014
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Robert Redford stars as a man stranded on his crippled sailboat in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Liked
Redford, fascinating premise, and patient story-telling.
Thoughts
Pretty entertaining thanks to strong acting, interesting premise, and realistic story.
Much like Castaway or Gravity (which incidentally came out the same year as this), the star power of its lead was vital. With a compelling life-or-death premise, accompanied with the challenge of essentially a dialog-less narrative, you need someone the audience will want to root for as the hero goes through the drudgery of survival. Redford, being the sole name on the cast, carried the film effortless with his craggy, yet dignified face and ageless presence.
I also liked that the plot was very believable, with a lot of waiting in the sun. The film makers let the story unfold, without the pressure of forcing something "exciting" in every scene. In between the couple of storm sequences, the movie took its time to show the minutiae and resourcefulness required to survive, such as him salvaging his ship as it slowly sank, or using navigation tools to plot his path into shipping lanes. His difficulties in hailing a ship were fascinating and heart-breaking. The ambiguous ending was a nice touch to his journey.
It was great to see a living legend like Redford, back onscreen, still bringing his A-game, especially inhabiting an interesting challenge of a movie like this. Had it been released one year early/later, All is Lost might've gotten more attention, which it definitely deserved.
