Review: All Is Lost

Originally, I was not planning on going to watch this. But after seeing the trailer and the initial reviews, it convinced me enough to pay and go and see it on the big screen.

In a nutshell, you could say it is about a man and his boat. You would be right. But like all great films, there is more than right.

It is a great tale about the human condition, are willingness to survive the elements and facing fear in the face of certain death.

With not a lot going on in terms of the budget, you can never underestimate how good a small-budget film can be. I am big fan of small projects that end up being successful. A few films that I love with not much cast or sets are Phonebooth and Buried. It just amazes that you can make films on this type of small scale, as well as the obvious mega budget level.

Robert Redford clearly has the sole duty of holding this film together. He achieves that with that old school class that not many others can do. With little dialogue, he still manages to suck you in, feel for him and make you want more.

The feel of loneliness throughout the film reminded of 'Gravity' and 'Buried'. That feeling that you cannot escape the peril you are in, is a great plot device that works a lot of the time.

Not many negatives, a small one and a big one. The idea worked for me and that is why I will give it a high rating, but I did not feel it to be engaging enough to be one of my films of the year.
The big negative that actually got me annoyed was two scenes towards the end of the film. Once seen, I hope you can see why I am frustrated by this. I did not feel that that would actually happen in my opinion. I rarely say that within films unless it was glaringly obvious. It was a shame to see that, but I still feel the ending satisfied me.

In the end, there is enough in there to like. Redford's tough mission I felt was accomplished and he held the whole thing together beautifully.
I do like movies with little grandeur, that can still match-up to the big money blockbusters.

I still feel and will probably forever be annoyed with some important bits of the film that I don't believe would have happened. So not quite amazing as some of the critics says, but there is a lot in there that is great. It really shows how much you can do with so little.

Rating: 8/10