Robert Redford — All is NOT Lost

I am still in denial about the snub. Robert Redford gives one of the finest performances in any medium, much less just on film, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences fails to recognize this achievement with so much as a nomination. To which I say HARRUMPH.

As a man lost at sea and facing life and death situations in rapid succession, Redford is never less than riveting. He makes the film’s device of eschewing spoken dialogue into a virtue, and delivers a virtuoso performance that is a master class in conveying emotions, from the most subtle to the most vivid. In a film that is profound about our place int he universe, as well as being a riveting adventure, Redford is superb. The will to survive, the moments of desperation, elation,  and panic all wrapped up in a study on the will to survive invests the instinct to survive into something both primal and noble.

And Oscar(tm) said “eh”.  Shame on Oscar(tm).

Maybe if there had been the same caliber of special effects found in GRAVITY Oscar(tm) would have taken ALL IS LOST more seriously. Then again, with a performance like Redford’s, who needs special effects. It’s Oscar(tm) who will have to work on being taken seriously after this.

Click here to listen to my interview with ALL IS LOST’s writer/director J.C Chandor.

 

Click here for my mini-rant about this snub, and my thoughts about the other Oscar(tm) noms and snubs during my spot on KMJ AM radio Fresno.