All Is Lost

After all of these years, Robert Redford proves time and time again that he can still act. And there is no better way to show this than being the only person on screen for the entirety of a film with minimal dialogue, while still being able to keep the audiences attention.

I'm not exaggerating when I say minimal dialogue. Unlike "Cast Away", this film has no inanimate object given to the character to keep his sanity. All there is is our man alone with his thoughts and the audience trying to get inside his mind through the filmmakers story telling.

"All Is Lost" is about a man, alone on his sailboat in the middle of the Indian Ocean (I hope I don't sound like an idiot right then). He is awoken one day by the crashing and cracking of his boat after hitting a shipping container and the water rushing in through the gigantic hole it has made.

Right away, you know that this film needs no dialogue, and that simply watching a man trying to survive is enough to help you connect with his character. With the accept ion of a letter written to his family read at the beginning of the film, every word spoken is either involuntary from being injured, or a last chance of being rescued. Yet you find yourself needing no more than what is given.

Depicted Above: Robert Redford being a badass.

The intensity of each moment surpasses any words that could be said at the time. And despite not having to memorize lines, Robert Redford's performance is as impressive as any other this year.

My Grade: A+