All is Lost (J.C. Chandor, 2013)

[flyonthewall2983]

Redford blames Lionsgate for Oscar snub

[matrixschmatrix]

Having finally watched this: it was much better than I expected, a lean, well shot movie that does precisely what it intends to, and does it quite well. As far as FerdinandGriffon's uncle's objections go:

Spoiler

So, I don't think that Redford is supposed to be a very good sailor. He's got a sextant he never opened, he is trying to figure out dead reckoning by reading a basic-level book about it, and he's out by himself in the middle of the Indian Ocean without a lot of equipment he really, really ought to have.

That said: so what? Why does he have to be someone who makes good decisions in fighting against nature for his struggle to be compelling? I watched this with my father, who is a sailor, and who really enjoyed it- he mentioned the EPIRB too, but for the most part he saw Redford's decision making as things that make perfect sense when you're out of your depth, tired, hungry, and for a decent chunk of the movie, concussed.

As far as getting into the raft goes, I actually thought that pretty clever- he needed somewhere dry and safe to sleep, and that let him get a night's rest without actually abandoning ship.

[MichaelB]

This continues to reinforce my theory that if you know too much about a subject, perhaps you should skip the film based upon it. I had major issues with Moneyball because of the rather inane changes made to the realities of a baseball team from only a decade ago, which led me to begin to ponder this - and then there was the Neil deGrasse Tyson incident with Gravity (and I'm not implying that my baseball knowledge matches his physics knowledge, but hey, I watched a lot of SportsCenter and a lot of baseball games that season!), and now this post about All is Lost. It seems like if they make a film about your profession or hobby or area of expertise, you might just want to avoid the possible disappointment altogether unless you're willing and able to suspend disbelief for two hours.

My hugely experienced midwife-ultrasonographer wife cannot watch anything featuring a birth scene without picking holes, whether it's the lack of realism (most onscreen "newborns" are several weeks old minimum) or the incompetence of the actors pretending either to give birth or to offer professional assistance. Although I have very fond memories of her cackling with glee when watching an episode of Casualty when an ultrasonographer lifted up the probe without any apparent effect on the onscreen image.

(The BBC series Call the Midwife and Kate Winslet's birth scene in Jude are the only things that have met with her approval thus far.)

Personally, I had no problem suspending my disbelief with All is Lost, which I enjoyed very much, but the last time I was on a boat was a cross-channel ferry and I wasn't in charge (just as well).

[Sonmi451]

I might be crazy, but (I seem to be using that preface more and more frequently, so perhaps it's confirmed...)

Spoiler

I finally caught this last night, and I ask anyone who now owns a copy of this, or who has some kind of photographic memory, please revisit the scene where Our Man re-enters the sinking ship, in order to grab the sextant and dress his wound. As Redford looks into the mirror it seems clear -- to me anyway -- that he actually winks and poses, breaking the 4th wall. Even before this scene I had begun interpreting the film as some kind of satire masquerading as survival thriller, but it appears no one -- with the possible exception of A.O. Scott -- views it as anything other than what it purports to be: a survival story, man vs. nature, etc. Viewed this way, Our Man's seeming ineptitude as sailer -- as discussed above -- not only makes sense, but is actually the point. Am I alone in the wilderness here?

[FerdinandGriffon]

The movie is much too rah-rah to support your reading, in my opinion, but it would bring new meaning to all that bailing out.

[Sonmi451]

It's truly fascinating how subjective art is, because I didn't view it as rah-rah at all. I actually found myself laughing deliriously at times, at

Spoiler

all of the inane decisions our man was making, from the shaving before the storm -- which is what first clued me in that not all was what it seemed -- to his gluttonous wasting of rations and destruction of his own water supply, to his band aid solutions, to his not being prepared to even work the flare, to his pathetic arm waving and inability to scream, among others. Above all I read this as a study of hubris, making it a rather fitting sophomore effort from Chandor.

[FerdinandGriffon]

It's truly fascinating how subjective art is, because I didn't view it as rah-rah at all. I actually found myself laughing deliriously at times, at

Spoiler

all of the inane decisions our man was making, from the shaving before the storm -- which is what first clued me in that not all was what it seemed -- to his gluttonous wasting of rations and destruction of his own water supply, to his band aid solutions, to his not being prepared to even work the flare, to his pathetic arm waving and inability to scream, among others. Above all I read this as a study of hubris, making it a rather fitting sophomore effort from Chandor.

Stupid these decisions may be, but when the music choices, the casting, the symbolic imagery and the general all-too-seriousness of the film seem to be insisting that they're at least reasonable or admirable, I think you have to start to wonder if Chandor wasn't fully in control of what he was doing.

If you want a recent and hilarious study of hubris and arrogance in the face of nature, look no further than 127 Hours.

[matrixschmatrix]

I think the letter read at the beginning sets the tone far too firmly for it to come off as some kind of super-subtle satire- the man's a bit incompetent, and I think we're meant to recognize this, but to extrapolate that his incompetence is the point from the tiniest of winks (which I absolutely do not recall) seems unwarranted.

[Sonmi451]

Well, the wink -- which was actually fairly elaborate, as was the pose -- was sort of the icing on the cake, not the basis (but please do revisit the scene, with it in mind). The letter could be interpreted as being written to us, the audience. But I realize I am in the minority here (minority of one?), so I'm not sure I'm prepared to defend it to the death.

[Black Hat]

I don't recall the wink or the pose but Sonmi has an interesting read on the film. I agree in feeling the letter was one intended for the audience but I also certainly didn't see it as rah rah, if anything I thought the film's approach was remarkably whimsical given what was at stake. I was quite enamored in Our Man's plight and never got any sense of hubris, I thought many of his decisions were made out of frustration. Also not knowing a thing about sailing I didn't pick up on his incompetence until reading this thread. Here's what gets me about that tho, if he is meant to be that incompetent and that's supposed to be part of the film's point, what was Our Man doing out in the middle of the Indian Ocean by himself? How on earth would any one have hired him?

It's a film I'm looking forward to revisiting this to looks out for what Sonmi's picked up on and seeing how well it holds up. It's pacing and excitement level reminded me quite a bit of A Man Escaped

[matrixschmatrix]

Wait, why do you think anyone hired him? I was assuming he was a recreational sailor, out there on a boat he owned.

[Black Hat]

Didn't he have all that cargo with him that he eventually let go of?

[matrixschmatrix]

You don't mean the cargo container he hit, do you? The one that was full of shoes? Because that was just adrift in the ocean.

Other than that, I don't recall anything other than the normal shit you'd have on a boat like that- if you're living there, things tend to accumulate. It's not the kind of vessel anyone in their right mind would use for hauling cargo in any case, sailboats are more or less exclusively pleasure craft at this point.

[Black Hat]

That's probably what I meant, I thought it was connected to the ship. In any case, what on earth was he doing in the middle of the Indian Ocean?

[matrixschmatrix]

Cruising from Africa to Asia or vice versa, I would imagine. It certainly isn't a good idea to do so alone or without more equipment, but it's far from unheard of. Barring special circumstances, a boat of that size is certainly capable of that kind of trip.

[warren oates]

In any case, what on earth was he doing in the middle of the Indian Ocean?

Isn't that a bit like asking; "What on earth was Fontaine doing in the back of that Gestapo car?" It's a minimalist narrative, to be sure, but it's no secret puzzle. You really can't figure out from context clues that Our Man is on a solo voyage, likely around the world, in the midst of his retirement?

I'm equally baffled by the suggestions from others above that Our Man's taking the time to shave is "inane," which somehow becomes a sign of his "incompetence." As in true survival stories, not every decision taken here is optimal or actively contributes to the most pressing goal. But shaving is s silly thing to criticize. Our Man chooses to groom himself the way that a man on death row might -- to take a moment to ground himself in everyday humanity, hope and normalcy. It's a perfectly understandable decision, and, from the standpoint of his awareness of his own psychology, a rather smart one.

[Sonmi451]

To be fair, the shaving scene is probably less an example of Our Man's inanity than it is his vanity/hubris.

[warren oates]

How hubristic, how vain, to cut one's beard! Thinking that he could halt the ravages of time against the erstwhile smoothness of his cheeks! What a cosmic joke! Imagine if he'd brushed his teeth too. Does Our Man's ego know no bounds?

[Sonmi451]

While shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean, with a storm rolling in, wasting precious water in the process? You're right, maybe he should have ironed his shirt too. Oh wait, he had no electricity, damn.

[warren oates]

But he's not yet shipwrecked. And I've already explained why it's a psychologically astute move on his part to take a breather and groom himself, and how it's not uncommon for perfectly reasonable and mentally healthy survivors to make similar decisions in extreme circumstances. He knows he's using up water but doesn't imagine it's being "wasted," because he's sure got enough potable water to survive -- and, at the moment, he's correct. It's only later on, in the raft, that he has a problem with the valve on his container.

[matrixschmatrix]

Isn't he shaving from his ship's reservoir, rather than the jug he brought aboard the liferaft? That's not wasting water, it's using water that's going to disappear soon regardless.

In any case, I don't see shaving as the best use of time (he has a beard when we first see him, so it's obviously not vital to his self image) but it doesn't take that long and it's a decent character beat in a silent movie. He's presumably fully aware that his chances of survival aren't great, and is trying to make himself feel normal before doing something risky. That's pretty understandably human, to me.

[Sonmi451]

If not technically shipwrecked, with a patched whole in his boat and no navigation system or electricity, and a raging storm coming, he's about as close as you can come. I'm not sure what you mean by "he's sure got enough potable water to survive". For how long? In a situation like that you need to be rationing, which he seemingly did not do throughout -- indicating greed, gluttony, hubris. Another example is when he first gets on the life raft, he symbolically tosses aside the survival bag, opting instead for his "celestial navigation". On a life raft. Then when he needs the survival tools, he is ill-prepared to use them.

Anyway, regarding the shaving scene, again, that is the beauty/subjectivity of art. Two people can view the exact same scene in diametrically opposed ways. I certainly acknowledge how one could view it as some sort of last vestige for hope/normalcy, I simply didn't read it that way. If you can't see how one might interpret someone shaving in that situation as vanity, I don't know what to tell you. There is no "correct" answer here.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure I recall him using the jug, but I could be mistaken.

[warren oates]

Gets out a small mirror and a razor and shaves. This seems an odd choice but OUR MAN seems to be wanting to keep up some level of appearances for his own mental state if nothing else.

From a different moment in an early draft of the script. But, nevertheless, it's the filmmaker himself explicitly telling you without any doubt what Our Man's shaving is supposed to mean.

[Sonmi451]

Umm, right, because that's definitive, and ipso facto disqualifies any possible hidden or layered symbolism in the scene. Chandor has repeatedly been reluctant to discuss his own interpretations, because he is smart enough to realize that once the art is out there, it's no longer strictly his to interpret. Multiple interpretations are encouraged. Not sure why you need to feel there is a "correct" one.

[matrixschmatrix]

Well, if your argument is that the movie is an intentional satire- which it seemed to be, at least initially- than the filmmaker's intent is pretty relevant, I would say.