A stunningly shot and classically told story

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2017)

This is a wonderful film that restores faith in the traditional art of movie making. Richly shot on 35mm by DoP Darius Khondji, every frame feels like an exquisite painting, carefully constructed by a filmmaker at the top of his game in James Gray. The backdrops of England, the Western Front and Amazonia all have interest on every inch of the screen and yet for all this color and texture, it is the characters that leave you thinking long after exiting the theater.
Charlie Hunnam, as Col. Percy Fawcett, is adequate and measured, but it is star turns from Sienna Miller (Percy's wife), Robert Pattinson (companion Henry Costin), and a ruddy cheeked and opulent Angus MacFadyen (wealthy explorer James Murray) that make the film. The haunting struggle and draw of the jungle and the world Percy leaves behind is revealed through committed portrayals of three dimensional characters who are both authentic to their era and yet still relevant in 2017. And that is the theme that is so skillfully woven throughout the film by Gray, the conflict of portraying the "other" as whole and independent in a world that simplifies and condescends. That Gray could make a story about an early 20th Century British explorer resonate so profoundly with the world we live in today, shows that this is his finest work to date.
All lovers of cinema should see it, but anyone able see it from a beautiful 35mm print should definitely not miss the opportunity. This is filmmaking as it is supposed to be.