19 July 2017

The Lost City of Z [SQ Inflight Entertainment]



A very well executed adventure epic by writer-director James Gray that was equally riveting, inspiring and touching, with a superb performance by Charlie Hunman. Co-stars Sienna Mille exuded subliminal graces, Robert Pattinson remains underrated and Tom Holland cements both his undeniable talent and star calibre.

Gray has crafted a story that traced the mysterious true story of Percy Fawcett but he did not mine it for unnecessary sensationalism or Indiana Jones-esque adventure/thriller. Instead what we got was an intimate exploration of a man’s obsession and how it informed his life’s decision. Smartly, Gray also chose to put some focus on how such obsession affects his family instead of broadly brushing it aside. And it was these moments that Miller shone in a role that would have otherwise been nothing but accessorising. 

Hunman deserves a leading man role as deep/complex as Percy Fawcett. Sure, he could also convincingly play an action character a la King Arthur, but Guy Ritchie’s material failed to bring out his potential.

Pattinson remains a young actor deserving of our attention. Like his Twilight co-star, Kirsten Stewart, they are both talented actors and are trying hard to break out of that pre-conceived stereotype from that franchise. It would not be long that he gets recognised.

Holland had a bit role but he has a screen charisma that makes him stand out. His slight built, reminiscence of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, may be to his disadvantage, but thankfully he has Spider-Man to build off. Here’s hoping his career will be on the right path.

The cinematography was by Darius Khondji and it really was quite stunning, both of the countryside and within the jungle. Speaking of the latter, the biggest mistake of the film was the production design of the jungle/villages. They barely looked like the rainforest you would expect of the Amazon.

The Lost City of Z was a beautiful and entertaining film. Wished I had managed to catch it in the theatres, and now I do want to go read the book.

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