5 Great Films That Only Have One Character

All Is Lost

From writer/director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call), this survival drama features Robert Redford as ‘Our Man,’ in a film that employs two dramatic devices to insert us into his nail-biting story – the solo character, and the time-shift. As All Is Lost opens, we hear Our Man gently resigning himself to the fact that “all is lost,” before the tale snaps back to eight days previously.

Clearly a resourceful and experienced sailor, he is alone and asleep in the midst of the Indian Ocean when he is awoken by a collision with a rogue shipping container. Investigation quickly reveals that the encounter has torn a hole into the hull and begun to flood his vessel with water. Our Man dislodges the container, patches up the damage, and fashions a replacement for the missing handle on his hand bilge pump. This initial accident sets in motion a relentless chain of events that continuously challenge and threaten Our Man. His navigational and communication equipment are damaged and, in fixing those, he spots a tropical storm heading his way. Once the storm is upon him, he is thrown overboard and the boat capsizes before righting itself, with everything damaged beyond repair. Our Man escapes in an inflatable life raft with the intention of heading into the shipping lanes, but discovers his ordeal is far from over as he finds himself out of food, water and signalling devices.

What is essentially a very simple, three-act story is carried squarely on the shoulders of its only cast member – Robert Redford – with the barest minimum of dialogue. In a clear example of the main requirement on an actor in a solo character film, Redford commands the screen – filling every inch as necessary and compelling the audience to unconsciously invest themselves in Our Man and his struggle. This achievement is made all the more remarkable by the fact that we really know nothing about Our Man. Beyond his proficiency in a sailboat, we don’t know who he is, where he comes from, why he is there alone and, crucially, if anyone is waiting for him to return. The result is that we do not identify with him as a person, we simply identify with his sheer will to live.