memento_mori's Movie Review of All is Lost

Rating of
3/4

All is Lost

A challenge in nothing.
memento_mori - wrote on 11/14/13

Once you give this film some more thought, you like it less. What a pity.

Having watched it again, I am disappointed that I can't admit All is Lost was as good the second time as it was the first.
I retract my statement from my last review, in which I hailed this film a masterpiece. It is a very intense look into the mind of a man. Too bad that that man is more of a scapegoat than an actual character.
The reason I was worried about All is Lost during anticipation of its release, was because Margin Call was such a fantastically directed dialogue-based film. People were either wise-cracking, arguing or having conversations for the entire movie. It might have been nice to see a breath of fresh air in director J.C. Chandor's latest film, but he should definitely stick to filling the air with one-liners and interesting discussions, rather than a recurring groan or wince of near-outburst from Robert Redford.

What All is Lost did better than Margin Call definitely is the tension and atmosphere. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the first and final act of the film, but let's be honest: Was this film really at all times spectacular? Is the sight of Robert Redford repairing a mast for ten minutes really Oscar-worthy?

The direction, on the other hand, is spectacular. It engrosses you into the claustrophobia of The Man's surroundings, and still reminds you how huge and beautiful the world is, by adding as much color and virtual emotion to the tone as possible.

What makes me very sad, though, is the fact that Robert Redford has nothing to do here. What kind of a challenge is a role with ten lines, which lead nowhere?

Just like the temperature it inflicted upon its sole actor and character, All is Lost left me cold the second time around. I don't know what to make of such a disorienting, at times very boring screenplay, and the fact that it is getting constant Oscar hype for nothing is starting to exasperate me.

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