All Is Lost

****
UK Release Date: December 26th 2013

After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face. (www.imdb.com)

Director: J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year)

Starring: Robert Redford

Robert Redford's nameless sailor spends the duration of All Is Lost by himself. Little is known about him, but in the first twenty minutes or so he shows how calm, patient and resourceful he can be. Whether it's repairing a giant hole in the side of his boat or freeing his boat after colliding with a floating shipping container, he knows his stuff. He's in the middle of somewhere, and faces one travesty after another, similar to Bullock's Ryan in Gravity. All Is Lost is unbearably tense to watch at times, thanks to the great Redford and his ability to survive and stay cool under pressure, and for us to want him to survive even though we know little about him. Chandor's nearly non-existent dialogue is a risky choice, but one that's pulled off impressively. It opens up our other senses and sound is very much still important to all concerned. Hearing the waves crash or thunder rolling over the sky gives us all warning of the problems heading Redford's way, and unlike Gravity, Redford's disaster-ride is a believable one, and one that will put anyone off sailing the seas altogether.

4/5