The Lost City of Z (2017) * * *

Directed by:  James Gray

Starring:   Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller, Tom Holland, Angus MacFadyen

Walking into The Lost City of Z, I expected an action adventure reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie.    The title all but promises that.     What the movie delivered was a thoughtful depiction of a career British military officer's obsession with finding a lost civilization in the early 20th century South American jungles.     It is easier to project outward conflicts than inner ones, but The Lost City of Z presents the inner conflicts of Col. Percy Fawcett (Hunnam) with more conviction than the battles with his family which he must leave for sometimes years at a time in his quest. 

We sense Col. Fawcett's biological clock ticking in the film's opening moments, in which he tells his wife Nina (Miller) how is the only major in the British Army without any medals on his lapel.    He feels unaccomplished despite his successful military career.    Fawcett wants to be remembered for something and stumbles upon it during a surveying expedition through the Amazon jungle.    Accompanied by veteran aide Henry Costin (Pattinson), his crew is ravaged by malaria, fatigue, and locals who rain arrows down on them as they helplessly travel the Amazon.    And let's not forget piranhas.  

Fawcett accidentally happens upon artifacts which suggest a lost civilization that once occupied the Amazon.     Is there enough evidence to convince his government to finance further expeditions?    Is there really even a lost city to be found?     Does Fawcett even care?     He digs in like a tick to raise money to return to the jungle, which results in more illness, death, and no discoveries.     Soon, his obsessive quests are put on hold for World War I, in which Fawcett is blinded temporarily by chlorine gas attacks during the battles in the trenches.

Throughout the twenty plus years in which Fawcett puts his desire to find Z (as he calls his lost city), he alienates his children and at times his more than understanding wife.     She suggests going with him to South America, but the jungle is no place for a woman.    Heck, there is little evidence that the jungle is any place for a man either.     Sickness and death do not discriminate.     Sienna Miller played a similar role (which has been pointed out in every review I've read for this film-so why not one more time?) in 2014's American Sniper.    In that film and here, she pleads with her husband to stay home once in a while and be with the kids.    It is one note, but she plays it effectively.    

Charlie Hunnam taps into a universal desire to do something special and then goes further to show us the depth of that desire.     We see a man torn between his destiny and his love for his family, which usually comes in second to the former.    We also see a forward thinker who doesn't see the jungle natives as savages, but as valuable resources in his discovery.   Hunnam presents a strong, multi-faceted Fawcett forever at war with himself and the elements, while Pattinson continues his run with offbeat supporting roles which stretch his talent far beyond his Twilight days.    I admire Pattinson's decision not to rest on his laurels and take on challenging work.    

Those who watch The Lost City of Z expecting another Raiders of the Lost Ark action bonanza will be disappointed.     But, don't dismiss the film just yet.     You may miss out on a movie which is still a very worthwhile journey into hell on Earth and the hell of one's soul.