Millennials might not know what Apocalypse Now is. But back in the day, that movie used the Vietnam War as an allegory for an American soldier’s slow descent into hell the further he went into the jungle. The Lost City of Z is the British opposite of that. The hook is the same, soldier goes into jungle to find things real and imagined. However, the Amazon is MUCH less malevolent than the Red River, at least according to Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam).
Fawcett is a British solider that desires recognition from the British nobles. So he embarks on an expedition in the Amazon to obtain his desired status. With the help of Arthur Manley (Edward Ashley) and Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson), Fawcett goes deep into the Amazon to search for a mysterious lost city, called Zed. He doesn’t find it on his first expedition, but the jungle captures the Colonel’s mind. His wife Nina (Sienna Miller) and oldest son Jack (Tom Holland) sort of understand the necessity of the mission for Percy, but they struggle mightily at home in England trying to grow without their bedrock.
The Lost City of Z feels like it could have been made as a counter to Apocalypse Now…in the 1970s. The movie has a very old fashioned look and feel that gives it more power than it probably has any right to have. The grandeur gets established with fantastic tracking shots of where we are going. In addition, the period setting and exploration allows for broad but powerful speeches about the importance of discovery, layering on the importance established in the cinematography. Then, the movie dives us in with deliberate pacing, slowly immersing us into Fawcett’s world (we don’t see sweat until 30 minutes in). The slowness extends to the jungle sequences, which lull us to sleep until quick perils endager the crew. Then the lethargic place puts us on the edge of our seat with the potential for tragedy perpetually around the next river bend. The faith in the pacing gets rewarded when discoveries get made, making the audience release with more joy then they would have by the movie taking its time. Repeat this process a few more times with some wrinkles, and you have the chance at becoming an epic film. The Lost City of Z won’t be a classic, but man, its confidence that it is telling an important story manifests in every frame of writer/director James Gray’s direction.
I was ready to look over Lost City of Z because of its so-so sounding cast, but they rise to the occasion. Charlie Hunnam has a future playing British Nobleman as long as he wants; he embraces Percy Fawcett’s thrill of exploration, his open minded understanding of all cultures, and his unwavering determination to complete his personal search through raucous speeches and righteous indignation. Robert Pattinson continues to abandon his vampiric past to play a seemingly nervous man who rises to the occasion when the situation requires it. Sienna Miller and Tom Holland don’t get enough to do, but they establish their strong wills themselves, going toe to toe with Percy and valiantly defending him when the situation needs it too.
The Lost City of Z gives me hope that there are directors out there who understanding the power of those older films. James Gray helps us dig deep into Percy Fawcett and the consequences of exploration and discovery. The result is a well made nostalgic trip down a rewarding path. Oh, and another sequel to Piranha. Geez, those fish are terrifying.