After making a stunning directorial debut with 2011’s Margin Call, J.C. Chandor returns this year with his sophomore feature, All Is Lost, for what promises to be an entirely different kind of film.
Whereas Margin Call featured a fast pace and some incredibly tight dialogue, earning Chandor an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, All Is Lost instead has not a single word of dialogue, with Redford the sole actor throughout.
The premise is definitely enticing, and the early reviews from its Cannes debut have been promising. Craig was on hand at Cannes to see the film – you can read our review here – and it definitely sounds like a must-see this year.
When the first clip surfaced last month, we weren’t yet sure of when the film would be arriving here in the UK. But now its UK release date has been set for 13th December, coming a little under two months after its Stateside release.
Deep into a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, an unnamed man 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 meagre supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the face.
Chandor is once more directing from his own script, and it will be interesting to see if he earns himself another nomination in the same category as his debut.
The film’s respective release dates means that it’s pretty much certain to be a prime contender for both the Oscars and the BAFTAs early next year, making it all the more necessary to see it later this year.
All Is Lost will be released in the US on October 18th, and will cross the Atlantic a little later for its 13th December release.
