All Is Lost: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man (Robert Redford) wakes to find his 39-foot yacht taking on water after a collision with a shipping container left floating on the high seas. With his navigation equipment and radio disabled, the man sails unknowingly into the path of a violent storm. Using only a sextant and nautical maps to chart his progress, he is forced to rely on ocean currents to carry him into a shipping lane in hopes of hailing a passing vessel. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face.
Sometimes silence speaks volumes and in this instance there was a lot of it here. Nothing is more scary than a person left alone with nothing but their thoughts and in this story you can see it all unfold right in front of your eyes. There is extremely little dialogue throughout the film and the entire thing is essentially a mans fight for survival but with an actor of Redford’s capacity that’s more than enough to put out a stellar performance. He easily sends the viewer on a roller coaster of emotions throughout the story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie quite like this and it was such an amazing thing to experience as a viewer and a fan of filmmaking. I loved how the film started with no explanation whatsoever and just jumped right into it. Truly the way it started and the details as to why wasn’t important at all it was the journey that was so captivating. I was impressed at how director J.C. Chandor could tell such a huge story but at the same time make it feel so small and personal which is an incredible thing to do with such a minimalistic approach. This is a unique and powerful film that I can easily recommend to everyone and that will wreck your nerves the entire time.
Special Features:
Big Film, Small Film – The feature takes a look at the scope of the film in relation to the personal story that takes place.
The Story – Cast and crew talk a bit about how gripping this tale is.
The Filmmaker: J.C. Chandor – A great look a the director of the film.
The Actor: Robert Redford – An equally great feature on the lone cast member of the film and his experience.
The Sound of All Is Lost – Sound mixers Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns talk about the importance of the perfect score for the film including the intense moments in the storm.
Preparing for The Storm – Chandor talks about the process of storyboarding the storm sequences along with some of the VFX that gave the film the finished look.
