While The Lost City of Z may appear to amble at an unassuming pace it naturally gains momentum to reveal itself as a deeply engrossing story of humanity.
James Gray has been a writer and director long on the cusp of mainstream success but without the willingness to concede to the mainstream’s need for simplicity. It is this integrity, and honesty, that has led him to this point in his career; where he is making triumphs on his own terms. The Lost City of Z is much more of a compromise from Gray in terms of screenwriting, and perhaps even pacing, but it is still a unique, murky and very often stunning film.
The Lost City of Z was adapted by Gray from David Grann’s book and centers around the career of explorer Percy Fawcett (played by Charlie Hunnam), focussing on the effect that his career has upon his relationship with his wife (played by Sienna Miller) and family; particularly his eldest son (played by Tom Holland).
Gray’s scripts are always driven by difficult relationships but it’s been good to see him focus on conveying mood more through production design and cinematography, taking some of the burden off his already fully-taxed actors, in his previous film The Immigrant and again here. Much like The Immigrant, also shot by Director of Photography Darius Khondji, the overall devotion to aesthetic is masterful in The Lost City of Z. As in The Immigrant, the low colour grading creates both a beautifully controlled haze to scenes that would ordinarily be flooded with colour and an incredibly impressive use of the natural light afforded by the film’s starkly different environments. Yet, as it first appears to be a story of order colliding with chaos, the intricacy of the costume design and makeup create this organic feel to the world which ultimately bolsters the film’s core message of homogeneity. Gray has been an American filmmaker, through and through, and to see him take so naturally to the repressed, but socially volatile, world of early 20th century Britain, and the uncharted jungle of colonial era South America, is remarkable.
The Lost City of Z moves from the luxuriously, exhaustively, detailed ballrooms and boardrooms of Merchant Ivory Britain to the menacingly tangled hell of a Werner Herzog Amazon both frequently and effortlessly. Something which is made all the more impressive by the film’s leanness and the high pressure placed on each actor. Nothing in The Lost City of Z feels superfluous yet it is a sweeping story stretching across continents, decades, miles of jungle and the ravage of war. Though noticeably not free of detailed subtitling, the social and emotional progression of each character in the film, and the world that they inhabit, is mostly demonstrated through performance. Charlie Hunnam delivers what may be the most demanding, and best, film performance of his career thus far and Sienna Miller is not far behind him.
Each member of the ensemble, including numerous native actors and an unrecognisable Robert Pattinson, performs perfectly. Hunnam has spoken about the lack of rehearsal time available for the film’s schedule and how he wanted the relationships to develop in the scenes and you can really see it unfolding.
The Lost City of Z is in part a historical drama but mostly a character study informed by historical events. Gray’s typically slow-burning development is present here but accentuates the more traditionally dramatic scenes and speeches. Moments which would ordinarily be waysided as necessary, but incidental, acting scenes that filled the gaps between the larger set-pieces are instead the fundamental pillars of the film and its most memorable moments. Gray is able to touch upon the constraints of class and gender, the burgeoning of feminism and cultural relativism in the developed world, without it ever feeling manipulative or like they’re being used haphazardly. Each argument feels less like an exploited opportunity for drama and more like a link in a chain, informing the viewer of the history which leads the characters down their respective paths. The Lost City of Z is, after all, a film about history and anthropology. To blend art and science is the most basic idea that fuels cinema and Gray demonstrates enormous respect for both disciplines.
The Lost City of Z is out now in UK cinemas and will be released in US cinemas on April 14th.
