All Is Lost

Margin Call was one of the best movies of 2011, certainly near the top of the list for 2011 films very few people saw. Its writer-director, J.C. Chandor, was Oscar-nominated for his screenplay, and he’s back with another excellent effort. All is Lost will likely give Robert Redford his first Academy Award nomination as an actor in 40 years, portraying a sailor isolated in his 39-foot yacht when all hell breaks loose. Redford delivers a commanding performance, and he has to: He’s the only person in the film. All is Lost is a remarkable distillation of one of the basic forms of narrative conflict, man versus nature. Can’t get much more overt than this. Chandor deserves a lot of credit for his direction and committing to the spare structure, but it’s really Redford who quietly and assuredly does the heavy lifting.