The Lost City of Z
James Gray's Lost City of Z is a patient, handsome piece of filmmaking — the kind of obsession story that earns its runtime and stays with you after the credits roll.
TL;DR Summary
Pros
- Shot on 35mm with Darius Khondji — the visual texture is exceptional throughout
- Hunnam and Pattinson both deliver career-level performances in understated registers
- Gray's direction trusts the audience; no hand-holding, no unnecessary exposition
- The Amazon sequences feel genuinely immersive and atmospheric, not studio-manufactured
- Adapts a rich source story faithfully while finding a clear cinematic point of view
Cons
- The first act pacing is slow enough that casual viewers may disengage before the film finds its stride
- Sienna Miller is given relatively little to work with despite a strong early presence
- The deliberate tone means it will not satisfy anyone expecting a conventional adventure film
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Extended Observations
James Gray's Lost City of Z is a patient, handsome piece of filmmaking — the kind of obsession story that earns its runtime and stays with you after the credits roll.
James Gray has spent his career making films that feel out of step with their moment — which is exactly why they age so well. The Lost City of Z, adapted from David Grann's 2009 nonfiction book, follows British explorer Percy Fawcett across multiple Amazon expeditions in the early twentieth century. It is a film about ambition, obsession, and the particular madness of men who cannot leave a question unanswered.
Charlie Hunnam carries the film with a steadiness that suits the character. Fawcett is not a swashbuckler; he is a methodical, driven man whose fixation on a rumored Amazonian civilization gradually costs him everything adjacent to a normal life. Hunnam plays that accumulation of sacrifice without melodrama. Robert Pattinson, nearly unrecognizable under a thick beard, delivers a quietly funny and affecting performance as Fawcett's loyal companion Costin. Tom Holland rounds out the expedition party in a role that asks more of him emotionally than most of his other work.
Gray shoots the film on 35mm, and it shows. The Amazon sequences have a grain and warmth that digital cannot replicate — dense, humid, genuinely threatening. The London drawing-room scenes feel period-correct without being fussy. Darius Khondji's cinematography earns the comparison to Herzog's Amazonian work without imitating it directly. This is a film that looks like it was made by people who cared about the image.
The pacing is deliberate. Gray takes his time establishing Fawcett's domestic life, his class anxieties, and the institutional skepticism he faces from the Royal Geographical Society. Viewers conditioned to tighter adventure films may find the first act slow. That patience pays off — the final act carries real emotional weight precisely because Gray has laid the groundwork — but it is worth flagging for anyone expecting a conventional jungle thriller.
For the viewer who values restraint, craft, and a story that trusts its audience, The Lost City of Z is a strong recommendation. It fits comfortably alongside Gray's other work — Two Lovers, The Immigrant, Ad Astra — as a film that rewards attention. At a few dollars to rent, the ask is low for what it delivers.
Our Verdict
James Gray's Lost City of Z is a patient, handsome piece of filmmaking — the kind of obsession story that earns its runtime and stays with you after the credits roll.
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