Stowaway

 3/4

Starring: Toni Collette, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson

Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Language and Peril)

Sci-fi has been big the past couple of years.  And I don't mean "Star Wars" and robots (although "Ex Machina" made my Top 10 list in 2014, and its cousin "Chappie" just missed it).  But realistic, intelligent science fiction (which leaves out the superheroes).  The list of entries reads out like a Top 10 list of its own: "Interstellar," "Ad Astra," "Arrival," and this year's "Voyagers."  While Joe Penna's "Stowaway" isn't as impressive, it's still in august company.

Three astronauts are on a two year mission to Mars.  Marina Barnett (Collette) is the commander of the mission, taking her third and final journey into space.  Zoe Levenson (Kendrick) is the medical officer.  And David Kim (Kim) is the botanist whose journey is the culmination of years of research to grow life on the Red Planet.  After a textbook takeoff, they're on their way.  Then something unexpected happens: there's an unexpected passenger named Michael Adams (Anderson) found on board.  Now the three-person crew has become four.  Things seem to be going smoothly until a sudden event forces them to make an impossible choice.

The crisis this crew faces is not for me to reveal.  Like most surprises, it's most effective if it comes as a shock.  But let's set aside what happens for a moment and consider the ramifications.  To what extent do our personal feelings about someone interfere with our decision-making?  In other words, how does our opinion of someone influence our actions?  Is it possible to remain objective?  Or does morality dictate our behavior?

"Stowaway" is not a philosophical treatise; the characters don't just go into space and spend their entire time debating such things.  But the film's story raises them and Penna has the good sense to take them seriously.  We like the characters and thus sympathize with the choice each of them have to make.  Penna milks this conflict for all its worth, and generates a surprising amount of suspense and dread.

The quartet of strong performances certainly helps.  With the exception of the wannabe arthouse horror "Hereditary," Toni Collette is as reliable as they come.  She's one of those actresses who can and will do just about anything.  Keeping her native Australian accent this time, she ably conveys a sense of authority no matter how stressful things get.  Anna Kendrick lends her trademark perkiness to the role of Zoe, but adds a sense of genuine warmth.  Daniel Day Kim can't match his co-stars for screen presence, but he's solid.  And Shamier Anderson is instantly sympathetic.

Many movies demand to be seen on as big a screen as possible, and I suspect that "Stowaway" is one of them.  In order to achieve its full effect, a movie like this needs spectacle.  Much like "Interstellar" and "Ad Astra" lose something when viewed on a smaller screen, so does "Stowaway."  This is just my suspicion, since it was distributed by Netflix.  But the lack of the awe factor limits the emotional power of Penna's direction and the gorgeous camerawork by Klemens Becker.  It also exposes the seams in the plot.

Still, there's no denying that this is a gripping adventure movie.  The sense of terror and dread are impossible to deny.  It grabs you and doesn't let go until the (somewhat unsatisfying) ending.  "Stowaway" does more than enough things right to get a recommendation from me.

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