Robert Redford stars in latest sailing movie ‘All Is Lost’

In the 2000 movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks’ character was stranded alone on a deserted island for more than four years. This translated to just over half of the 143 minute movie. It seemed like a lot at the time, but Robert Redford has reportedly set a new benchmark for a solo movie performance.

All Is Lost, which is scheduled for release on October 18, stars Robert Redford as a man lost at sea. Redford is the only cast member, and the film has almost no dialogue.

At the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered in May, Redford’s performance generated some early Oscar buzz. “I wasn’t 100 percent positive that this was going to work,” Redford said. “We had some scary days when we were finishing up the film, where we were all kind of like looking around with our distributors and kind of going, ‘Is this it? Is this the movie?’ By that point, I felt very very strongly that it was. An older guy in the latter stages of his life, and I just felt like that was the best version of this movie.”

Here are some of the reviews following the screening of the film at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival…

Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent: “utterly compelling viewing”
Andrew Pulver, Guardian: “Redford delivers a tour de force performance: holding the screen effortlessly with no acting support whatsoever”
Justin Chang, Variety: “(Redford’s performance) holds the viewer’s attention merely by wincing, scowling, troubleshooting and yelling the occasional expletive”
Robbie Collin, The Telegraph: “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”

Here is the movie trailer…