The Lost City of Z (film)

Plot

Based on author David Grann’s book, The Lost City of Z tells the true story of British explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who journeys into the Amazon at the dawn of the 20th century and discovers evidence of a previously unknown, advanced civilization that may have once inhabited the region.

Despite being ridiculed by the scientific establishment who regard indigenous populations as “savages,” the determined Fawcett — supported by his devoted wife (Sienna Miller), son (Tom Holland) and aide-de-camp (Robert Pattinson) — returns time and again to his beloved jungle in an attempt to prove his case, culminating in his mysterious disappearance in 1925.

Cast

Development

Originally James Gray was hired by Paramount Pictures and Plan B Entertainment to write and direct the film based on David Grann's 2009 book in February 2009 but the film remained in development stage for six years. In a 2015 interview with IndieWire, Gray admitted that he had developed the script for a while before moving towards production. He explained that "(it's) very complicated production and the story is amazing, but it's a complicated story. And you want to get it right. It's a very, very scary proposition to go into the jungle and all that. But at the same time it's terrific. It's why you make movies."

Casting

The project went through numerous casting changes for the lead role. Initially Brad Pitt was to star as Colonel Percy Fawcett, additionally providing production duties through his Plan B Entertainment. In November 2010, Pitt withdrew from the lead role due to scheduling conflicts, but remained attached as the producer to the film. On September 4, 2013, Benedict Cumberbatch came on board to portray Fawcett, along with Robert Pattinson, who also joined the cast as fellow explorer Henry Costin.

In February 2015, Cumberbatch also dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts, and was replaced by Charlie Hunnam, while Sienna Miller also joined the cast as Nina Fawcett.

Filming

Principal photography began on August 19, 2015, in Belfast, Northern Ireland and continued for five weeks through late September 2015. After that, filming moved to Santa Marta, Colombia, South America and continued through September and October 2015. On August 28, 2015, filming took place at Greyabbey Village and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland. Hunnam and Miller filmed scenes at Ballintoy County Antrim on August 31, 2015. Filming took place at Craigavon House, East Belfast on September 2, 2015.

Hunnam, Pattinson, Miller and Macfadyen shot scenes at Methodist College Belfast on September 3, 2015. On September 7, 2015, scenes were filmed at Belfast City Hall and on the grounds of Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Scenes were also shot at Bangor Castle Leisure Centre on September 13, 2015.

Music

Christopher Spelman composed the music of the film. He also composed the music of James Gray's 2013 film The Immigrant. He also worked as the music arranger for Gray's previous films including, The Yards (2000), We Own the Night (2007), and Two Lovers (2008). George Drakoulias and Randall Poster served as the music supervisor for the album.

The Tangled Earth by audiomachine was used in the trailer of the film. The soundtrack will be released digitally on March 24, 2017.

Release

The film had its world premiere as the closing night film on October 15, 2016, at the 54th New York Film Festival. Prior to that, StudioCanal acquired international distribution rights to the film, while Amazon Studios obtained U.S. distribution rights. Bleecker Street is partnering with Amazon on the film's theatrical release. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 14, 2017. The film was released in France on March 15, 2017 and in the UK on March 24, 2017.

In February 2017, the film was presented at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Special section. It will also serve as the opening night film of Boston International Film Festival on April 13, 2017.

Box office

The Lost City of Z was first released in France on March 15 where it generated $770,719 on its opening weekend. This was followed by the United Kingdom and Ireland on March 24, earning £270,139 from 282 theatres. It managed to debut at number seven on the box office chart.

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 87% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a rare piece of contemporary classical cinema." Dan Callahan in his review for TheWrap said that "The Lost City of Z feels like a clear artistic advance for Gray, who proves himself here as one of our finest and most distinctive living filmmakers." Owen Gleiberman, writing for Variety, called the film "a finely crafted, elegantly shot, sharply sincere movie that is more absorbing than powerful." Joshua Rothkopf in his review for Time Out called it "a rare piece of contemporary classical cinema; its virtues of methodical storytelling, traditional style and obsessive theme are ones that would have been recognized and embraced anytime from the 1930s through the 1970s."