If the book is as captivating as the film, I'm glad I haven't read it!

Rating: 2/10 (29 March 2017)

I found the experience of watching this film to be akin to that of listening to a person living with dementia telling you about their life, with an adoring relative interjecting only to say "Oh he was lovely!" every now and then.
It is, in essence, a series of episodes vaguely summarising various events of Fawcett's life. Occasionally but briefly in intricate detail, but predominantly with a general lack of substance. To return to my analogy, I imagined myself at one point saying "That's incredible! Tell me how you felt at that moment, did you realise right then the magnitude of your discovery? Tell me about the gruelling journey home, was it fraught with peril?" Only for the storyteller to continue.. "So I arrived back in London...".
No! Please give me more details. I've dedicated over two hours of my life to hear your story, but I've come away with roughly the same amount of information as I could've gleaned from the back of a primary-school student's pencil case. You know, like the ones that just have a time-line with monarchs' names or some such alongside, but are lacking in any further description.
On the plus side, it was quite nicely shot at points although it did feel as if this, coupled with the apparent fact that this film was shown in selected, more 'prestigious' and therefore expensive theatres/screens were little more than candid narcissism and was tantamount to the director pleasuring himself in my face for the price of my £16 ticket. Additionally, and somewhat bizarrely, the first 20% of the film had a near-constant and somewhat mediocre musical score, immediately followed by a scene wherein some mediocre opera playing within earshot of the characters could be easily mistaken for a continuation of said score. This was intrusive and unnecessary, and although it didn't continue throughout the duration of the film, this did not excuse its inclusion in the first place.
Due to the lack of detail or any attempt at interconnection between what I shall continue to refer to as 'the episodes' with a deliberate lack of capitalisation as I don't consider them worthy of a title, alongside abrupt changes in setting, the experience could also be likened to that of being held hostage in a stranger's living room as they mindlessly alternate channels between a Channel5 period drama and a recap of a Blue Peter trip to the Amazon told from the perspective of a donkey wearing blinkers, such is the lack of momentum and detail. Dialogue is painfully slow and, were this not the case, the running time could've been significantly shortened or better still been put to good use in filling in at least some of the notably absent detail. I am an advocate of a move away from the 90minute format of most films but this does nothing to support that argument.
There is also a borderline-distasteful adoration of Fawcett's alleged delivery of faux-profound proclamations worthy of being printed on the back of a market-stall iPhone case. I am left unsure of whether this was artistic licence or if Fawcett really was that much of a nob. Similarly, little reference is made of his questionable attitude toward the role and capability of women or his insistence upon prioritising the recognition of his peers and reclaiming of the status of his family name over the emotional well-being of his dependants.
Ultimately, his blind faith led only by local legend and a randomly placed Russian fortune teller, and failure to commit to his children led Fawcett either to his death and that of his son or, according to this film, to his decision to remain in the utopia he may have discovered, thus abandoning his wife and remaining children and leaving them only with a faint hope that he survived. The former is likely more plausible, though the latter would come as no surprise.
In summary The Lost City of Z is a vacuous, self-indulgent and ultimately forgettable portrayal of what may have been a great man, but likely was the exploration equivalent of a modern-day philosophy student embarking upon a degree in order to suspend the responsibilities of adult life.
Recommended as an alternative to viewing your Auntie's slide show of sunburn-heavy holiday snaps from her latest trip to Alicante or similar Sun holiday destination.