How interesting can it be to watch a movie featuring only one character?
There’s no question that it takes a specific kind of actor to keep the audience’s attention for nearly two hours without getting bored.
Academy Award winner Robert Redford keeps you captivated in the 2014 survival film, All Is Lost.
The story wastes no time with lengthy introductions and doesn’t even offer to give you main character’s name. When we first meet our man, he is the lone passenger on a sea-faring vessel in the middle of the Indian Ocean where his boat is struck by derelict cargo freight, turning his life completely topsy-turvy.
It’s not easy to watch a film with only one character. There exists the risk of boredom and monotony. How do you keep the story interesting where your protagonist has no one else to interact with? How far can you stretch the story?
All Is Lost has no shortage of answers to these questions as Redford spends the entire film, doing wherever he can to keep the boat afloat on an unfriendly tide.
With extremely little dialogue the story is driven by continuous conflict that keeps you wandering of the main character is going to survive long enough to see the credits at the end of his own movie. He face a turmoil amidst a raging oceanic storm that sends the his boat careening and bobbing to and fro as waves crash over the rail, tossing the vessel on its end and upside down.
The radio is damaged and he loses navigation, leaving the character literally stranded in the middle of the ocean.
All Is Lost is anything but subtle and Redford’s soul performance is not lost on us.
The film keeps you watching to see what will happen next. You’ll want to know what next challenge lies in store.
If I found this film difficult to watch at moments, its because I can imagine just how terrifying it could be to stuck in the middle of the ocean and trying to make it back to civilization on a sinking, dying vessel.
Even as the prospect of being left swimming in the middle of the ocean and his boat sunk, Redford maintains his resolve in what anyone else might call a hopeless, no-win scenario.
Let’s face it, film fans. What would you do if you were all alone on a sinking boat in middle of the ocean? Panic, yes.
Redford’s performance is that of a strong individual who has accepted his fate, but not resigned to it. He keeps going when anyone else might have given up and forfeited himself or herself to Poseidon’s wrath.
All Is Lost is a worthwhile watch. Should you ever find yourself surfing the Netflix gallery looking for something to watch and you happen to come across this movie, don’t pass it by.
My only regret is not watching it sooner.