All is Lost

Following a collision on his sailboat with a shipping container in the middle of the Indian Ocean, a stranded elderly sailor (Robert Redford) must contend with violent weather and use his resourcefulness to make his way back to land. For his second feature following Margin Call, All is Lost is an admirable and almost experimental project for writer/director J.C. Chandor and also an excellent and seemingly arduous vehicle for Redford, who is the only credited cast member and still commanding as ever at the age of 77. I think I liked the basic idea behind the film better than the execution as certain stretches, especially in the first half, tended to drag and the audience is given very little about the main character, perhaps in an attempt to avoid hackneyed, survivor movie cliches. Chandor utilizes some visual poetry quite well in the concluding passages and again Redford delivers a moving, authoritative performance.