Interstellar
2.5/4
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace
Rated PG-13 for Some Intense Perilous Action and Brief Strong Language
Christopher Nolan is one of the most popular filmmakers working today. Apart from Steven Spielberg (who at one point considered directing the film) and James Cameron, no one can claim a mastery of popcorn entertainment, and no one's next project is ever more highly anticipated by the public.
There's a reason for this: Nolan is one of the hardest working and most talented directors in the industry. Unlike Michael Bay, he doesn't waste his talent in the search of a quick and easy buck. Nolan is always challenging himself, willing to take that chance and do something different. Many filmmakers, even the best ones, shy away from taking risk. Not so with Nolan. He's always pushing himself to do something totally different and testing the limits of his considerable talents. More than that, he has consistently met the high expectations he has set for himself.
With "Interstellar," Nolan has attempted his most challenging and audacious film yet. He seeks to explore the challenges and dangers of interstellar space travel. Rightly knowing that the film wouldn't succeed with mass appeal without a human face on the conflict, he has the strong relationship between a man and his daughter as our gateway into the drama (actually, family relationships in general are Nolan's emotional focus here). The results are mixed, but the film's problems have less to do with the science-talk (which is occasionally confusing, but not unforgivably so) and more to do with the fact that the soundtrack and special effects drown out a substantial amount of the dialogue.
In the near future, the Earth is no longer capable of sustaining human life. Farming is essential for the survival of the human race, but crops that are able to provide food for mankind are dwindling. Cooper (McConaughey), a fighter pilot turned farmer, has been seeing some strange things going on in his house, and eventually this leads him to what remains of NASA. His old professor, a man named Brand (Caine), has come up with a plan to travel through a wormhole to a nearby galaxy and see if there are any planets capable of sustaining human life. He wants Cooper to fly the shuttle with his daughter Amelia (Hathaway). But due to time dilation (which would make everyone on Earth age much faster than him), Cooper must face the reality that he may not see his daughter Murph (Foy as a child, Chastain as an adult) until she is elderly...if at all.
"Interstellar" is not a space opera. Warp Drives and light sabers have no place here. Nolan is more interested in the science aspect of it, and the grim realities that come with it (such as the fate of a few scientists). Cooper and his crew total four people (plus a robot). The odds of survival are not on their side.
Unfortunately, Nolan has fallen into the same trap that he did with Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises," only this time it's much more extreme. I was engaged by what I understood of the film, but at least half of what the characters are saying is drowned out by the sound effects or Hans Zimmer's dramatic score. In the past, Nolan has had the respect and confidence in his audience that they will be able to follow his dense plots. Apparently that has changed. This is inexcusable (not to mention a huge pet peeve of mine).
That said, the performances are top notch (a Nolan trademark...he's one of the few action directors who knows how to direct actors). Leading the pack is Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey doesn't have great range, and I wasn't particularly enamored with "Dallas Buyers Club," the film that won him the Best Actor Oscar last year. But in the right role, the Texas native can do great work, and this is easily, easily the best performance he has ever given. I would be surprised if he doesn't get an Oscar nomination. We can really feel how he is torn between the love of his daughter, who never forgave him for leaving, and the mission. Choosing between the love of a child and saving the human race may seem like a no-brainer, but I felt his conflict, and appreciated how neither he nor Nolan turn it into a soap opera. It's played very realistically. The other members of the cast do fine work, but this is all McConaughey.
I'm having a tough time deciding whether or not to recommend the film. On the one hand, I appreciated the chances that Nolan takes and how he doesn't talk down to the audience. McConaughey's work is strong enough that it would be worth seeing in a terrible movie (which "Interstellar" is not). And there are some truly awesome scenes in this film (the film is guaranteed Oscar nods in those areas). On the other, a huge portion of the dialogue is unintelligible, which leads to quite a bit of confusion.
As it stands now, I'm going to give it a 2.5/4, although I reserve the right to change it once I see it on Blu Ray with subtitles.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, John Lithgow, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Topher Grace
Rated PG-13 for Some Intense Perilous Action and Brief Strong Language
Christopher Nolan is one of the most popular filmmakers working today. Apart from Steven Spielberg (who at one point considered directing the film) and James Cameron, no one can claim a mastery of popcorn entertainment, and no one's next project is ever more highly anticipated by the public.
There's a reason for this: Nolan is one of the hardest working and most talented directors in the industry. Unlike Michael Bay, he doesn't waste his talent in the search of a quick and easy buck. Nolan is always challenging himself, willing to take that chance and do something different. Many filmmakers, even the best ones, shy away from taking risk. Not so with Nolan. He's always pushing himself to do something totally different and testing the limits of his considerable talents. More than that, he has consistently met the high expectations he has set for himself.
With "Interstellar," Nolan has attempted his most challenging and audacious film yet. He seeks to explore the challenges and dangers of interstellar space travel. Rightly knowing that the film wouldn't succeed with mass appeal without a human face on the conflict, he has the strong relationship between a man and his daughter as our gateway into the drama (actually, family relationships in general are Nolan's emotional focus here). The results are mixed, but the film's problems have less to do with the science-talk (which is occasionally confusing, but not unforgivably so) and more to do with the fact that the soundtrack and special effects drown out a substantial amount of the dialogue.
In the near future, the Earth is no longer capable of sustaining human life. Farming is essential for the survival of the human race, but crops that are able to provide food for mankind are dwindling. Cooper (McConaughey), a fighter pilot turned farmer, has been seeing some strange things going on in his house, and eventually this leads him to what remains of NASA. His old professor, a man named Brand (Caine), has come up with a plan to travel through a wormhole to a nearby galaxy and see if there are any planets capable of sustaining human life. He wants Cooper to fly the shuttle with his daughter Amelia (Hathaway). But due to time dilation (which would make everyone on Earth age much faster than him), Cooper must face the reality that he may not see his daughter Murph (Foy as a child, Chastain as an adult) until she is elderly...if at all.
"Interstellar" is not a space opera. Warp Drives and light sabers have no place here. Nolan is more interested in the science aspect of it, and the grim realities that come with it (such as the fate of a few scientists). Cooper and his crew total four people (plus a robot). The odds of survival are not on their side.
Unfortunately, Nolan has fallen into the same trap that he did with Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises," only this time it's much more extreme. I was engaged by what I understood of the film, but at least half of what the characters are saying is drowned out by the sound effects or Hans Zimmer's dramatic score. In the past, Nolan has had the respect and confidence in his audience that they will be able to follow his dense plots. Apparently that has changed. This is inexcusable (not to mention a huge pet peeve of mine).
That said, the performances are top notch (a Nolan trademark...he's one of the few action directors who knows how to direct actors). Leading the pack is Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey doesn't have great range, and I wasn't particularly enamored with "Dallas Buyers Club," the film that won him the Best Actor Oscar last year. But in the right role, the Texas native can do great work, and this is easily, easily the best performance he has ever given. I would be surprised if he doesn't get an Oscar nomination. We can really feel how he is torn between the love of his daughter, who never forgave him for leaving, and the mission. Choosing between the love of a child and saving the human race may seem like a no-brainer, but I felt his conflict, and appreciated how neither he nor Nolan turn it into a soap opera. It's played very realistically. The other members of the cast do fine work, but this is all McConaughey.
I'm having a tough time deciding whether or not to recommend the film. On the one hand, I appreciated the chances that Nolan takes and how he doesn't talk down to the audience. McConaughey's work is strong enough that it would be worth seeing in a terrible movie (which "Interstellar" is not). And there are some truly awesome scenes in this film (the film is guaranteed Oscar nods in those areas). On the other, a huge portion of the dialogue is unintelligible, which leads to quite a bit of confusion.
As it stands now, I'm going to give it a 2.5/4, although I reserve the right to change it once I see it on Blu Ray with subtitles.
Comments
Post a Comment