Director J.C. Chandor follows up his all-star, gripping financial thriller MARGIN CALL with another nail-biting effort. This time he relies on only one big name and being a huge fan of Robert Redford, I’m excited to see how one-man show, ALL IS LOST, turns out. Redford is a lone man on a quiet voyage in the Indian Ocean. However, he wakes to find his luxury yacht taking on water following a collision with floating debris. It’s not long before he discovers he’s sailing into a oncoming storm and soon realises he’s in for the fight of his life.
The film received its premiere earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival and considering the quotes included in the following trailer, it certainly impressed. The film sails into US cinemas from the 18th October and the UK 29th November.
Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man (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. Despite his success in patching the breached hull, his mariner’s intuition and a strength that belies his age, the man barely survives the tempest.
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.
Craig was our great north east correspondent, proving that it’s so ‘grim up north’ that losing yourself in a world of film is a foregone prerequisite. He has been studying the best (and often worst) of both classic and modern cinema at the University of Life for as long as he can remember. Craig’s favorite films include THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, JFK, GOODFELLAS, SCARFACE, and most of John Carpenter’s early work, particularly THE THING and HALLOWEEN.
