All is Lost (J.C. Chandor)

[Ezee E]

IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2017038/?ref_=sr_1)

http://1-ps.googleusercontent.com/x/www.moviefanatic.com/images.moviefanatic.com/iu/t_medium_p/v1375427258/all-is-lost-poster.jpg.pagespeed.ce.9pX3-15KLz.jpg

[Boner M]

I rather unexpectedly liked this a whole lot. Probably my favorite studio film of the year, and Gravity could learn a lot from it. Letterboxd capsule:


Wasn't excited about seeing an exercise in pure cinema from the director of Margin Call, but the lack of obvious formalism + Redford's natural gravitas combine for something enthrallingly materialist, where the innate qualities of landscape/objects/faces drive the narrative (Redford's great, but he's most effective in the moments he's least readable). The underwater cutaways and occasional CGI undermine things a bit, but there's purity here. Call it Bresson for dads.

[Sxottlan]

This was pretty solid. I enjoyed the peril thrown Redford's way and I was kind of surprised by the production values that allowed Chandor to pull it off. I liked how he adhered to the sailor's POV even when it was probably tempting to cut away, as when the yacht turned over completely, but I liked how he looked down to see the mast completely pointed down into the deep. The shot of him at the wheel as the storm approaches with a vast unsettled ocean behind him was a real impressive shot.

Redford does good work here. He sells his character's slowly fading confidence and calm. I particularly liked the annoyed look he gets when his boat gets tussled while he's inside. It's more about immediacy than getting any kind of back story for Our Man. His reluctance to use the sextant was interesting and was obviously a gift from someone (he does wear a wedding band through the film), but that's about it for any possible background. This is reminiscent of 127 Hours more than anything like say, Gravity. In Boyle's film as in All is Lost, both focus on men who have epiphanies that they cannot make it on their own.

Good work by the sound department.

BTW, Michael Bay is thanked in the credits.

Also: rated R?!?! What? Is it because in a film with a paragraph of dialogue, one of the words he says is 'fuck?'

[TGM]

Also: rated R?!?! What? Is it because in a film with a paragraph of dialogue, one of the words he says is 'fuck?'

The movie's rated PG-13. ;)

[Sxottlan]

The movie's rated PG-13. ;)

Huh. That would make more sense.

The theater flashed one of those "This film was rated R" screens after the film was over.

[Dukefrukem]

Someone recommended this at work. 6 for 6 yays here tells me I should watch this.

[Rowland]

Someone recommended this at work. 6 for 6 yays here tells me I should watch this.You should, it's very good. Hopefully more MCers will catch up with this.

[Ezee E]

You should, it's very good. Hopefully more MCers will catch up with this.

Did it even get beyond NY/LA? Talk about horrible marketing.

[Rowland]

Did it even get beyond NY/LA? Talk about horrible marketing.It played in Buffalo for two weeks, but it was at an out-of-the-way arthouse theater in a halfway abandoned mall that is only attended by senior citizens and myself.

[EyesWideOpen]

It played here in Phoenix

[Boner M]

Did it even get beyond NY/LA? Talk about horrible marketing.
"Scarier than anything in The Perfect Storm" was an actual pullquote used in the trailer. :lol:

[dreamdead]

This was excellent. I almost wish that the opening voiceover hadn't been included, as it would have accelerated that sense of intrigue and kept the film from rigidly adhering to a flashback structure. Love that they didn't try to overly "humanize" Redford--and while the denouement might be a touch out of character--embracing the soundtrack just a bit too much--it feels earned overall.

[Hugh_Grant]

It played in Buffalo for two weeks, but it was at an out-of-the-way arthouse theater in a halfway abandoned mall that is only attended by senior citizens and myself.

I think I've been to that theater when I visited my sister in Buffalo.

I'm borderline "yay." I was reminded of the classic Stephen Crane story "The Open Boat."