Based on true events, The Lost City of Z tells the story of British explorer Colonel Percival Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), who embarks on a surveying expedition on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society. While making his way through the Amazon with his companions Henry Costin (Robert Pattinson) and Arthur Manley (Edward Ashley), he discovers signs of an ancient culture. While this discovery conflicts with the British view of the native people as "savages", Fawcett becomes obsessed with finding the lost city - which he refers to as "Z" - to unlock what he considers to be the final piece to humanity's past.
This film is something of a biopic and something of an exploration epic. It hits quite a few beats as it follows Percy Fawcett's entire life, not just his explorations into the Amazon in search of the lost city. Charlie Hunnam is spectacular in the leading role, delivering a performance layered with passion and charm. His face isn't particularly expressive, but he has a constant air of stoicism and focus. You really feel the dedication of his character, and the journey that the film takes him on is an engrossing one. Fawcett is a layered and complex protagonist, as he tries to balance his personal life with his obsession with finding "Z". That seems like a very simplistic conflict, but the film portrays it in a consistently interesting way.
The film excels when the characters journey into the Amazon. The landscape shots are beautiful and vibrant, and the native tribes and cultures are treated with respect and dignity. It's fascinating to watch the explorers interact and work with the natives, and work with allies from their home, as they look for their elusive, mysterious goal. There were some technical issues, most notably a strange recurring visual aspect of certain shots where the picture quality was suddenly rapidly decreased. I don't want to believe that the camera was simply out of focus, but if that was a stylistic choice, it's one that's difficult to justify.
If there's anything that breaks The Lost City of Z's momentum, it's the pacing. The exploration sequences are the most engaging in the film, but the rest grinds the story to a halt. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of stuff going on outside of the jungle. The entire sequence of events portraying Fawcett's service in the First World War feels like it came out of another movie, and the family drama was just a series of small spats that were resolved almost as quickly as they began. His relationship with his son Jack (Tom Holland) tuns on a dime from hatred to an unbreakable bond.
This film needed to be cut down significantly. Not just the long sequences, but certain beats within scenes could have been trimmed down to help the story flow along more consistently. As it stands, The Lost City of Z tries to do so much that it feels a bit bloated, and the drama outside of the jungle feels forced. It's easy to understand and buy into Fawcett's obsession with finding "Z", and that ultimate goal never loses its plausibility, but the film begins to drag about halfway through and never fully recovers.
That's not to say that only the jungle sequences are good. Scenes of Fawcett justifying his search and trying to maintain his alliances in Britain are interesting, and benefit greatly from not portraying every stuffy old British politician in a lazily stereotypical way. If everything around the central explorations had been streamlined, then The Lost City of Z would have felt much more focused and driven, instead of stopping and starting so many times.
Ambiguity makes the "based on true events" aspect of The Lost City of Z a little hard to swallow. Suspension of disbelief is key to this film, especially considering that Fawcett's story has no definitive ending. The film doesn't have a real ending, because the real events have no real ending. While that is an interesting story to read or learn about, it doesn't make for a very satisfying plot. After so much of the film being devoted to searching for the city and Fawcett's obsession with the city, you expect some sort of payoff with the city itself. But the film ends on a very uncertain note, and leaves a very muddled feeling.
The Lost City of Z, despite its flaws, is an overall fun experience. The strength of the cast and the story's exploration of fascinating environments elevate it past its faults. While it isn't revolutionary as exploration stories go, it does draw you into the Amazon as fully as the characters. You can really feel the camaraderie between the explorers, and while the film never quite delivers the answers that it (arguably) promises, the journey alone makes the film worth watching. It perfectly captures the period and the wonder.
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