Around 95 percent of the dialogue heard in All Is Lost is featured in the film's opening moments. As the camera slowly pans to reveal a lone industrial cargo container adrift in the Indian Ocean, we hear the voice of Robert Redford read a melancholic, yet to-the-point note to friends and family he has left behind in the United States: he apologizes for unspecified wrongs, implores them to believe he has led a well-intentioned life despite his flaws, and hints at a dire situation in which he is now ensnared, observing only half a day's worth of food and water remain. A cut then transports the audience to a point a few days earlier as, halfway through a solo sailing adventure, his boat hits the previously glimpsed container. Its sharp edge rips a large hole through which seawater begins to pour, the first mishap in an ambitious, devastating, and electrifying action drama of survival on the high seas.

After 50 years of solidifying his status as a cinematic icon among cinematic icons, Redford reaches a new height of perfection as "Our Man," the brave, enigmatic, quiet, and resourceful figure we see wage against nature most deadly. With only a few lines of dialogue (an unproductive radio call here, a frustrated profanity there) and no co-star or Wilson-volleyball straight man in sight, Redford faces a gargantuan challenge and more than rises to it, conveying so many notes of dedication, fear, grief, pride, and wonder through his eyes and his movement. The intimate sensation startles and moves. It is without a doubt the performance of a lifetime and one for which he should be showered with laurels and praise.

The film encircling him is also a masterpiece, long on armchair-clenching set pieces (the first storm!) and moving at an intelligent, measured pace. Compared to the widely overvalued Gravity, it understands how to navigate the line separating realistic extreme danger from over-the-top, sensory assaulting chaos pornography, and it also trusts in the audience's ability to sympathize with a protagonist in peril without submerging them in heavy-handed sentimentality. As is almost always the case with the best survival stories, All Is Lost recognizes how insignificant a human body can become in the vast context of the natural world, arousing a certain majestic fear, but then celebrates the potential for creativity and resilience in the face of the insurmountable.

A

I thought it would be that good. I'm looking forward to this even more now. What a lovely review.

Anyone else here planning to see this (amazing) film? I know Algren will when it is available to him, but it is playing fairly wide in America now, so get out to see it, people!

I am having a conversation with myself at this point , but I saw it again this morning. I enjoyed it just as much, perhaps even slightly more. Such an immediate and vivid cinematic experience. The scene where he bids farewell to the Virginia Jean brings a tear to my eye.

I am glad you saw and dug it.

Other than perhaps on a technical level, this leaves Gravity in the dust, and Gravity cost around 90 million dollars more, so... All Is Lost is without a doubt the champion in regard to performance and writing. I believe every challenge Redford faces, from the small disruptions (the failure of the bilge pump) to the extreme (the boat flipping during the storm), whereas I was never on the edge of my seat during Gravity, which is so obviously a type of video game masquerading as a film.

Never too much, though, in my opinion. I believe the character as an experienced seaman, and he has a few shortcomings. It indicates, for example, he has come to rely on technology too much. He almost forgets the sextant stored away in his boat, and he needs to consult Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen. It shows the step-by-step procedure he undergoes to use the instrument properly. No, "Let me push every button on the Russian spacecraft until it goes boom."

I tend to believe he is saved. I know there will be people who believe it is "cooler" if it is a dying hallucination or an afterlife, but I prefer the implications of an ending where at the absolute point of no return--his life raft on fire, the painful swim to the surface--he is rescued. This seems a more proper conclusion to a film so fascinated with ingenuity and instinct in the face of grave peril.

Excellent movie. Kind of a companion to Gravity, though where Gravity stands above with stunning visuals and a terrific director in Cuaron, All is Lost is better as a story and actually more engaging than Gravity. And I loved Gravity.

Definitely a shame that Redford missed out (though I think it's unfortunate that he's now blaming the studio for his omission) because despite a performance entirely lacking in flash, you buy into it because of him. And I wasn't bored for a second.

I like the discussion on what the ending meant, but I feel like without any previous inkling that the film would end in a kind-of-afterlife scenario, it really meant that he was being saved. Then there's also the white light as the film ends.

I also dug that, if he did live, it started immediately with his "oh shit" moment and ended with him being saved. An entirely self-contained disaster, with no prelude and no epilogue.

And, to add one more plus, almost zero back story. Just bits and pieces that we piece together ourselves. Entirely unlike the clubbing over the head side story of how Sandra Bullock MUST live because she has a daughter back on Earth.

Even though the character is a total enigma in many respects, I believe the film does an amazing job of placing the viewer in his space, both mental and physical. A testament to the level of concern and emotion which can be generated simply by in-the-moment, no-bullshit humanity and physicality without any hand-holding explanatory dialogue or imagery. For instance, the moment when the Virginia Jean slips below the water and is truly gone is, for me, full of dismay and melancholy. I am not sure if it is because I imagine the boat is named after a woman he loves who is dead or separated from him. Maybe it is because it is a symbol of a tether to life and society, of creature comforts, going under forever. But it hits me.

The daughter was dead in Gravity, wasn't she? Oops, forgot that. But it still gets clubbed over the audience's head.

Here is the (obviously short) screenplay: http://roadsideawards.com/allislostscre ... _FINAL.pdf

Interesting to contrast the way the ending plays out on the page with how it is featured in the film. Even though I have always believed he is rescued at the end, it is much more...concrete in the screenplay.

All Is Lost

A gripping man-against-nature suspense thriller. Robert Redord is sensational. Every emotion can be seen in his face and actions. He's withered and not as strong as he once was, and this shows in his performance. It's like Gran Torino on the sea, and the all powerful nature are his neighbourhood bullies. The screenplay is slight, but it's effective. Coming to terms with death and losing hope are explored here, and the music plays its part with restraint so well. Some scenes really bring out the fear in you. I'm a strong swimmer, but the ocean is another level altogether. Being stranded on your own, with nobody to hear you scream, and not knowing what's lurking beneath you, is petrifying. The film works this ground well.

The film is contained in these 8 days of survival, and I was pleased that there were no backstory segments to show you why he was out there on his own, or who he's left behind etc. etc. You had to use the pieces of information that you saw on the screen to piece together your own history. I thought that perhaps the boat was named after his deceased wife, hence why he went on the journey alone. The letter was, first and foremost, to his kids. He's had a good, comfortable life, building his own fortune, but when he was young he was not rich, so he knew basic survival skills, but these were hard to remember perfectly, hence the revision. He felt like he didn't have much to live for, so he's at peace when he finally sees no light at the end of the tunnel.

The lack of dialogue was perhaps the worst part. Apart from the "FUUUUCCCKKK!", there wasn't any other talking-to-yourself scenes, which I feel is a tad unrealistic. Most people talk to themselves in their own home within crowded cities, so being in the middle of the Indian Ocean and not uttering one word or cuss or even a loud sigh of frustration, was unbelieveable to me.

I loved all of his survival skills. Very nice to watch.

B+

I wish I'd seen it before the WOKJ awards. I'd have given Redford a nomination, and the cinematography too.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Perhaps they could have included a bit more here-and-there dialogue, such as profanities and self-reassurances, though I am very glad they did not force any conceit in which he explains himself and his past via, say, a prayer or by recording a will on a tape recorder. I prefer the intensity and mystery of the character and his largely silent nature. The way the most overt piece of dialogue, the note heard at the beginning, is aloof, yet also clearly coming from a place of concern, love, and regret is fantastic.

Yes. Just normal day-to-day dialogue would have been nice, not a narration or back story narrative. Like when he fell into the water, for instance, he didn't say anything like "fuck" or "oh shit!". He just falls in, gets out, without a sound. But despite this, it is a solid film and one of the best about survival. And what makes it more great is that it doesn't feature your usual heroic acts of strength or athleticism to win the day. It's about an old, old man that is really struggling. It's not about his survival, but more about his downward spiral. We lose all hope for him, and then the film-maker gives us that light right at the final moment. That's memorable.

I agree that All is Lost would be much less memorable if there was more dialogue. Relying primarily on diegetic sounds made this an incredibly immersive experience, the 'pure cinema' I'm only now coming to appreciate.

While it's a shame that this excellent feature went mostly ignored at the Oscars, it's completely understandable why it did land a nomination for sound editing. In fact I suspect that part of the reason LGF found it a hard sell was the sophisticated usage of sound and near silence. Even the most hyperactive and loud solo survival films struggle at the box office (see 127 Hours) while ones that test audience's patience with silent are routinely buried ( The Way Back). Audiences subconsciously rely on musical cues and on-the-nose dialogue to guide their emotional and intellectual response to cinema, so I understand why All is Lost quietly passed by most. Their loss. I'll add my voice to the chorus that this was one of the finest films of 2013. A-

Full disclosure: I may be biased because I've been working on conceptualizing and shooting short films without any music or dialogue. For me All is Lost was simultaneously an educational experience as well as a riveting tale of survival. Here's a link to a no music/dialogue skateboard narrative I shot and edited last year.

Wow, that was great, MovieDude. Good job.

Utah. In my estimation the Southwest is the most photogenic region of America.

Cool video MovieDude, thanks for sharing.

I'm going to check out this movie now based on ya'lls recommendations.

Despite what I've read all over the place there is nothing remotely ambiguous about the ending. There should be a ban on goofy people analyzing movies

In the film, I had no doubt that he in fact got rescued at the end. But I prefer how it's put in the screenplay...... My one gripe with the movie was how quickly he resigned himself to death after the raft became a ball of flames. Give the boat a minute to see the fire and respond! Don't just sink down 30 feet immediately.

Pretty great movie though.