A man narrates a letter addressing people he will miss.
In theIndian Ocean eight days earlier, the man wakes to find water flooding his boat. It has collided with a waywardshipping container, ripping a hole in thehull. The man uses asea anchor to dislodge the container, then changes course to tilt the boat away from the hole. He patches the hole and uses a manualbilge pump to remove the water from the cabin. The boat's navigational and communications systems have been damaged by saltwater intrusion. The man tries to repair themarine radio and connects it to one of the boat's batteries. When he climbs the mast to repair an antenna lead, he sees an oncomingtropical storm.
When the storm arrives, the manruns before the wind. He intends toheave to, but as he crawls to the bow to hoist thestorm jib, he is thrown overboard and regains the deck only after a desperate struggle. The boatcapsizes and rights itself; during a second roll, which throws the man overboard again, the boat is dis-masted and most of the equipment is destroyed. After going below deck and being knocked out by colliding with a post, he regains consciousness to find the boat sinking, so he abandons ship in an inflatablelife raft. When the storm has passed, he salvages whatever he can from his sinking boat and transfers it to the raft. Before the boat sinks, he tends to the gash on his forehead.
As the man learns to operate asextant, he discovers he is being pulled towards a majorshipping lane byocean currents. He survives another storm, but his supplies dwindle and he learns too late that his drinking water has been contaminated with sea water. He improvises asolar still from his water container, a plastic bag, and an aluminum can, producing fresh water, and he snags a fish, but it is snapped up by a shark before he can reel it in.
The man's raft is passed by twocontainer ships, but it is unseen despite his using signalflares. He drifts out of the shipping lane with no food or water. On the eighth day, he writes a letter, puts it in a jar, and throws it into the ocean as amessage in a bottle. Later that night, he sees a light in the distance. He uses pages from his journal along with charts to create a signal fire. The fire grows out of control and consumes his raft. Falling into the water, he loses hope and attempts to drown himself. Underwater, he sees the hull of a boat with a search light approaching his burning raft. He swims towards the surface to grasp an outstretched hand.
All Is Lost was written and directed byJ. C. Chandor, his second feature film, following 2011'sMargin Call. Chandor developed the idea forAll Is Lost during his time commuting fromProvidence, Rhode Island, toNew York City.[9] After meetingRobert Redford at the2011 Sundance Film Festival, whereMargin Call premiered, Chandor asked the veteran actor to be in the film. On February 9, 2012, Redford was confirmed asAll Is Lost's only cast member.[10] With only one character, the film has no dialogue, although there are a few spoken lines.[11] The shooting script was only 31 pages long.[9]
Principal photography began in mid-2012 atBaja Studios inRosarito Beach in Mexico. Baja Studios was originally built for the 1997 filmTitanic.[10] Filming took place for two months in the location's water tank.[12] In addition the crew spent "two or three days" filming in the actual ocean.[13] Chandor would later remark that completing the film was "essentially a jigsaw puzzle"[13] and that the crew spent less time on the actual ocean than the film would have viewers believe.[13] At a press conference after the film's screening at Cannes in 2013, Redford revealed that his ear was damaged during the production.[14]
The film score toAll Is Lost is composed byEdward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' frontmanAlex Ebert, who signed on to the film in November 2012.[15] Speaking of the experience of working on the film, Ebert said, "This project was a dream—an open space to play in but also space to listen to the elements—wind, water, rain, sun, are the story's other characters to me. I knew I had quite a task ahead of me: to at once allow the elements to sing and to give Redford a voice with which to, once in a while, respond."[16] The "extra features" of theBlu-ray Disc explain the unique development of the sound track, music, script and other production considerations.
A soundtrack album featuring ten original compositions and one new song, all written, composed, and produced by Ebert, was released on October 1, 2013, by Community Music.[17] On September 12, 2013, the song "Amen" from the soundtrack was made available for streaming.[18]
All Is Lost screened Out of Competition at the2013 Cannes Film Festival on May 22.[19] The film was distributed theatrically byLionsgate andRoadside Attractions jointly in theUnited States.[20]FilmNation Entertainment handled foreign sales. In February 2012,Universal Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film for 19 territories including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, South Korea, Russia and Scandinavia. Other deals were made with HGC in China, Square One Entertainment in Germany, Sun Distribution in Latin America, Paris Filmes in Brazil, Audio Visual Entertainment in Greece andPony Canyon in Japan.[21] It began a limited release in the United States on October 18, 2013.
Film review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 95% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 239 reviews; the average rating is 8.00/10. The site's consensus states: "Anchored by another tremendous performance in a career full of them,All Is Lost offers a moving, eminently worthwhile testament to Robert Redford's ability to hold the screen."[22] OnMetacritic the film has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 45 reviews, considered to be "universal acclaim".[23]
After the screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival, Redford received a standing ovation.[24] Writing forThe Independent, Geoffrey Macnab says the film was "utterly compelling viewing".[25] Andrew Pulver, writing forThe Guardian, says that "Redford delivers a tour de force performance: holding the screen effortlessly with no acting support whatsoever."[26]Justin Chang ofVariety says of Redford's performance that he "holds the viewer's attention merely by wincing, scowling, troubleshooting and yelling the occasional expletive".[27]Robbie Collin ofThe Telegraph says, "The film's scope is limited, but as far as it goes,All Is Lost is very good indeed: a neat idea, very nimbly executed."[28]
InThe Guardian,Peter Bradshaw raves: "Redford's near-mute performance as a mysterious old man of the sea adrift and utterly alone makes for a bold, gripping thriller." Spotting a possible metaphor, he observes: "... the entire drama works well as a parable of old age… the news of impending mortality pouring in through the windows like seawater" and concludes: "What a strikingly bold and thoughtful film."[29] Alan Scherstuhl ofThe Village Voice writes that the film is "a genuine nail-biter, scrupulously made and fully involving, elemental in its simplicity."[30] David Morgan ofCBS News gives the film a positive review, stating, "Four decades ago Redford demonstrated a similar capacity for survival skills as the mountain manJeremiah Johnson. Today, at age 77, without a supporting cast and performing virtually all of his water stunts himself, Redford proves he is still up to the task, shining in what is an extremely physical but also an intellectually demanding role."[31]
However, the film has been criticized in the sailing world for being unrealistic, in particular for the lack of certain safety equipment deemed standard for sailboats navigating the open ocean, such as anEPIRB, and other bad decisions made by the main character.[32][33][34] An exception to this criticism is EnglishYachting Monthly, in which Dick Durham claims: "Certainly the film is authentic and grippingly realistic."[35] Director Chandor himself, who says he went sailing with his parents when young and later a few times as an adult, stated in an interview with German sailing magazineSegeln [de] that everything that happened in the film could have happened in reality. His only reservations were about the probability of crossing the Indian Ocean single-handed and the failure to evade the storm using modern technology and due attention.[36]
