Interstellar

Starring;
Matthew McConaughey
Anne Hathaway
Jessica Chastain
David Gyasi
Wes Bentley
Michael Caine
Bill Irwin
Ellen Burstyn


Director;
Christopher Nolan

In three words; Tangible - Genuine - Shame

Review;
Christopher Nolan has said recently that you can't pretend that 2001: A Space Odyssey doesn't exist and when you are embarking on making an epic space adventure film it's important to keep this in mind. There are clear influences from Kubrick's 1968 film, most notably the space craft Endurance, which can be seen in the film poster above. But there are many nods to many different science fiction films, Alien, Aliens, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Capricorn One, The Abyss, Gravity, I could go on and on. Whether this is conscious or unconscious flirtation with classic space set movies only Nolan could say. But then again how can you create a one and only truly original Sci-Fi film from head to toe without thinking about the aforementioned films? But in a way Nolan has.

Firstly let me tell you what the film is all about. I can't go into much detail without giving away spoilers but the basis premises I can discuss. Set in the near future Earth is unable to sustain life for much longer. NASA therefore start to look beyond our solar system for other habitable worlds in order to keep the human race going. Cooper (McConaughey) Dr Brand (Hathaway) Romilly (Gyasi) and Doyle (Bentley) are sent on a mission into outer space. They are joined by a robot called TARS. I don't want to say much more than this, go into the film blind and let me know what you see on the other side!

What is utterly brilliant about Interstellar is the tangible world which Chris Nolan presents to his audience. He had believable looking space ships constructed, he went to otherworldly locations (Iceland) to give his actors a purposeful backdrop to work with. We also have scenes set in space which did not require green screen. This my friends is a step forward, well actually backwards in a way.

When the crew of Endurance are on board they, and the audience, can see the ever expanse of space beyond the spacecraft. This was created using rear projection where film footage (in this case space) was projected onto screens which surrounded the external of the space ship thus giving the actors something real to look at and focus on. This is a technique which has been used for decades, from Hitchcock to Spielberg, they have all used it. It was even used memorably in the train dodge scene in Stand By Me. With the enhancement of technology rear projection is far better then what it use to be.

Nolan has assembled an excellent cast that's for sure. He said in an interview with Empire magazine that when he told the studio that he wanted Matthew McConaughey for the lead role there were a few raised eyebrows. This was of course before McConaughey had won the Oscar for Best Actor or his stellar performance in the film Mud. It was after watching a rough cut of Mud that Nolan set his sights on landing his leading man. Before the McConaissance (that's what people are calling it) Matthew McConaughey would have seemed an unlikely candidate however he was clearly the right choice and he puts in a fine performance. Of course McConaughey would be the first to tell us that!

Anne Hathaway, our second Oscar winning actor in this film, plays a likeable character and she has done her best with  mediocre lines, which I will come back to. Michael Caine (third Oscar winner) does a job but I genuinely feel he was overused. There are many other actors to talk about, some of which can add to the Oscar list, but there is no need to go into great deal about them. Jessica Chastain is great (as always) it's brilliant to see Wes Bentley on the big screen, John Lithgow always shines, Mackenzie Foy and Timothee Chalamet who play Coopers children are very good. Casey Affleck is also in it for some reason. The cast mostly do a fine job but there is no stand out performance in this film.

So what is my issues? Why aren't I amazed by this near three hour epic? I do like the characters to a certain extent, Hans Zimmer's score is perfect, the set design is faultless, I love the seemingly ridiculous, cumbersome and odd robots, I am in love with the special effects but I just can't get to grips with the script. The film was conceived by film producer Lynda Obst and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne and for a while Steven Spielberg was attached to direct. Which would have been interesting.

The script has gone through a number of hands, eventually Chris Nolan's brother, Jonathan Nolan finished it off but there are inconsistencies and contradictions throughout it. One minute its high concept (ok for most of the film it's high concept) and the next minute its intellectually insulting. There seems to be a fear within the script about the target audience which appears to be the family market. Which seems odd given the running length of the film and for the many brain draining moments.

Perhaps the studio were meddling with the script I'm just not sure. I can't go into much more detail as I would spoil surprises, which are actually worth the wait. What I would say it that the script should have concentrated on Jessica Chastain's character, but then again that would have been a space film without the stars, so to speak. No matter what it is the script which will be Interstellar's downfall which is a massive shame because there are so many elements in place to have made this an absolute classic.

Verdict;
3 out of 5.