Director James Gray's "The Lost City of Z" is beautifully shot, meticulously detailed, and at times brought to life with stirring emotion by members of its cast.
Unfortunately, it suffers from a stolid script that only the most talented members of the film's ensemble can lift into a semblance of real-life interaction. That stiffness slows the film's momentum to almost a crawl, and robs many dramatic beats in the film of the impact they should have.
It's not terrible, per se, but with different casting it could have been magnificent.
What's it about?
In 1905, British Army Major Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam, "Pacific Rim") sees his career at an impasse. Burdened with a stain on his family name inherited from his father, he trains younger soldiers in Scotland, eventually sending them off to glory fighting for the Empire while his fortunes continue to languish.
It’s not all gloom for Fawcett – he has Nina (Sienna Miller), his loving and strong-minded wife, and his young son, Jack, by all rights a beautiful and healthy family. But he yearns to redeem the Fawcett name and improve their prospects.
It’s then that he’s presented with an unusual opportunity. The Royal Geographical Society selects him to lead a mapping expedition in Bolivia. Reticent at first to leave Nina and Jack behind for a years-long journey, he’s convinced by the Society that the mission is of global importance, and could do much to improve his social standing should he return successful.
Fawcett and a fellow explorer, Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) spend the next two years leading a small group through the uncharted Amazon. Aided by a native guide, they follow the Rio Verde further than any European expedition ever, finally reaching the river’s headwaters and achieving what many believed was impossible.
It’s there that Fawcett makes the discovery that would change his life forever. Shards of finished pottery, buried in the rainforest where none were thought to have ever lived, point to the extraordinary possibility of a civilization lost to time and the jungle. In fact, for Fawcett, there can be no other explanation.
Upon his return home, he is indeed greeted as a hero for his achievement. But his conclusions about a lost city in the jungle, which he comes to call “Zed,” and the implication that the ancestors of the area’s tribesmen could have forged an advanced culture are met with deep skepticism and even laughter.
Fawcett resolves to not only find Zed, but also to prove that the native people of the Amazon are more than European racism and arrogance has dismissed them as. His drive becomes an obsession, drawing back to the jungle time and again, though it costs him years with his family and drives a wedge between him and a grown-up Jack (Tom Holland).
In 1925, Fawcett’s final expedition seemingly ends with his disappearance in the jungle. To this day, no one is certain what happened to him.
Did he ever find what he was searching for? Was there ever really a lost city? The film does present one possibility.
The man behind the story
“The Lost City of Z” is based on a novel of the same name. Author David Grann’s “The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,” follows Grann’s own journey into the Amazon, following Fawcett’s trail and attempting to learn more about his eventual fate.
It’s not the first time Fawcett and his exploits have inspired writers and creative minds. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his novel “The Lost World” on Fawcett’s travels, and its believed Fawcett himself partly inspired a certain fedora-wearing archeologist and explorer well known to contemporary movie audiences, Indiana Jones.
James Gray, adapting Grann’s novel for the screen as well as directing “The Lost City of Z,” works to keep the film looking and feeling like real history, rather than the literary and celluloid adventures Fawcett may have inspired. The result is a grounded but elegant production, reverent in its depiction of the places and peoples that Fawcett encountered in his travels, as well as the challenges he faced at home.
Casting uneven
That approach, obviously, demands a dynamic, charismatic presence in the lead role, and sadly, that’s where “The Lost City of Z” as film falters. Actor Charlie Hunnam never fully disappears into the role of Fawcett; further, his performance comes off as stiff and labored. His effort to project late Victorian English stuffiness, that very British “stiff upper lip”, just comes off as wooden and limited.
The cast around Hunnam, in contrast, proves especially compelling. Sienna Miller shines as Nina, a woman truly ahead of her time who remained steadfast in her support of Fawcett though she longed to accompany him on his expeditions. Miller continues to show her versatility as a performer, proving here she’s as capable in a period role as she is in contemporary roles.
Tom Holland, who audiences will see a lot more of later this year as Marvel’s new Peter Parker/Spider-Man, also delivers a memorable turn as Jack, the son who grows up conflicted in his feelings toward Fawcett and his exploits. Keep an eye out for smaller but impactful appearances from Scottish actors Angus Macfayden and Ian McDiarmid (yes, “Star Wars” fans – that Ian McDiarmid), as well.
Their efforts, unfortunately, aren’t enough to offset Hunnam’s struggles. To be fair, he’s not terrible – he’s just miscast.
Worth seeing?
For fans of period films and biopics, "The Lost City of Z" has a great deal to offer. Location photography, costuming, and attention to detail all shine in a production that was clearly a labor love, perhaps even obsession.
For the casual movie goer, however, its tough to catagorize the film as "must-see." Yes, the cinematography here certainly will be best enjoyed on a big screen, but a big screen at home might do just as well.
The Lost City of Z
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, Angus Macfadyen, Edward Ashley, Clive Francis, Ian McDiarmid, Franco Nero. Directed by James Gray
Running time: 150 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, brief strong language and some nudity