Based on David Grann's 2009 bestselling book, Z tells the story of Percy Fawcett (Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam), a British officer who in 1906 is commissioned by the Royal Geographical Society to chart Amazonia along the border of Bolivia and Brazil, as the region's rubber plants are becoming a much-sought-after worldwide commodity.
Fawcett's initial expedition is a long, two-year ordeal, fraught with sickness, lack of food and less-than-hospitable natives. But by journey's end, he finds evidence of a long-lost, advanced civilization, its relics so compelling that he makes finding this "lost city of Z," as he calls it, his life's mission for the next 20 years.
The film basically toggles between Fawcett's futile return trips to the jungle and his bittersweet homecomings with wife Nina (Sienna Miller) and their three children. While Darius Knondji's photography and Jean-Vincent Puzos' production design are both exquisite, there's just no conflict, nothing compelling to engage an audience for 141 minutes. The book, while dense and detailed, still managed to capture a sense of adventure and make for a thrilling read. None of that is on display here.
Z does offer serviceable performances by both Hunnam and Miller, as well as some nice supporting work from Angus Macfadyen (Braveheart), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars films) and a beard-sporting Robert Pattison as Fawcett's travel companion Henry Costin.
Director Gray is known more for smaller, character-driven morality tales (The Yards, We Own the Night), not expansive adventure films. Maybe that's the problem. Or maybe The Lost City of Z should have remained on the page, where it belongs. Grade: C
