IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Netflix
I've always had incredible respect for the sea. That didn't border on fear, but during holidays I preferred the safe hotel pool. All the more unimaginable it is for me to go sailing for several days or weeks, especially alone. This is sheer madness for me.
In his second film, J. C. Chandor shows us such a madman. The protagonist impersonated by Robert Redford is the only person we get to see. He doesn't have a name and is only called Our Man in the credits. J. C. Chandor obviously doesn't want to give the character any depth by giving him a name or other hints about his life apart from the adventure. This happens by simply showing his activities on board and his reactions to problems.
Besides his iron will to survive, which becomes more and more obvious during the course of the movie, there seems to be a certain amount of vanity attached to him, at least at the beginning. He shaves at the beginning, a process that really doesn't seem to be a priority on the high seas and since we accompany our man for days or maybe weeks and he has hardly any beard growth at the end of the film, his vanity is a fact for me.
That's also why we get to know very little about our man, since apart from a few exceptions, no word is spoken. An off-commentary, which describes the emotional world of our man or describes processes on the boat, is completely missing and leaves us alone with him. Here the Show Don't Tell Principle is maximized. I saw actions that I didn't understand at first, but then it gets more and more obvious, what our man is trying to accomplish with these actions. Nevertheless I was grateful for every spoken word, even if it was only a painful "fuuuck", when our man notices that dehydration is added to the many life-threatening problems.
Although I don't know much about the character, all the time I had confidence in his skills and the experience that Robert Redford radiates through his intense acting. The physical exertions of the 77-year-old Redford made me excited.
There are several moments in the second half of the film in which I really wished the dangerous odyssey through the sea would come to a positive end. I also felt a certain monotony here, but the always new dangers and the clever solutions of our man don't let boredom arise.
The sound design is damn intense. Everywhere it creaks and cracks and the whipping of the waves creates a threatening atmosphere of constant danger of death.
Of course, I won't tell you if it will end well for our man. For me it was in a way a horror movie, as I would shit my pants filled with fear in several situations, which our man masters with stoic determination.
A film for which I feel great respect for everyone involved, but wouldn't want to watch it again so soon.
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