A slow-moving biopic focusing more on the world and exploration than Fawcett as a character, but told with great craft

Rating: 7/10 (30 August 2019)

The themes of obsession and danger that were the most prevalent in the book are much less emphasized in the movie. While at times it feels like an ordinary biopic following the events of Fawcett's life and justifying his lifelong belief that there was a native city and civilization in the Amazon, it often was more focused on broader cultural ideals, particularly in that time period. It's very well directed, with scenes clearly showing the resistance Fawcett faced in a more traditional time period. The script doesn't give Hunnam as much room as I'd like to express his intensity and passion for exploration and success, but his performance was nevertheless extremely strong. His relentless attitude in the jungle while being reasonable towards Murray was very well executed. The cinematography was also one of the biggest strengths, especially the jungle scenes which conveyed the uncertainty of what was out there and constant fear, even if the script didn't show the depth of danger of the Amazon as the book did. One of the elements that didn't emotionally connect was the reconciliation between Jack and Percy - in the hospital scene, with no dialogue Jack goes from being disgusted at Percy's promotion to colonel to hugging and idolizing him? The ending was necessary in terms of the truth of what happened, but was anticlimactic in the lifelong journey we had seen Fawcett go on. While the script was imperfect, the direction, acting from Hunnam, and cinematography make The Lost City of Z a good and well-crafted film.