Interstellar
INTERSTELLAR (12)
D: Christopher Nolan
Warner Bros/Legendary/Syncopy (Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
& Lynda Obst)
US/UK 2014
169 mins
Science Fiction
W: Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan
DP: Hoyte Van Hoytema
Ed: Lee Smith
Mus: Hans Zimmer
PD: Nathan Crowley
Matthew McConaughey (Joseph Cooper), Anne Hathaway (Dr. Amelia
Brand), Bill Irwin (voice of TARS), Jessica Chastain (Murphy Cooper), Casey Affleck (Tom Cooper), Michael Caine (Prof. John Brand), John Lithgow (Donald), Matt Damon (Dr. Mann)
Visually, Christopher Nolan's 2014 sci-fi is a treat, but
the story is a let down, especially in the final half hour when it descends into the completely nonsensical.
Set in a future where the last generations of Earth are
plagued by giant dust clouds and limited to farming labour just to keep the food chain going, a former pilot (Matthew McConaughey) stumbles by chance on a NASA base and the small group of
scientists jump at the chance to tell him that Earth's days are numbered and they want him to lead a mission to find another planet on the other side of a wormhole capable of harbouring human
life.
There's some dramatic moments when McConaughey has to say
goodbye to his kids before heading out into the great void of the universe, but the scenes feel quite rushed.
The scenes in space are brilliantly realised, especially
the journey into and through the black hole and the universe on the other side, consisting of phantom time zones, a planet formed entirely of ice and another where water covers the entire
surface and giant tidal waves prevent any chance of life settling.
It's after the discovery of these uninhabitable planets
that the film completely loses it's way. Taking us away from the meat of the story and the intergalactic space voyage in favour of following McConaughey's now grown up daughter (played by
Jessica Chastain), now working for NASA and generally acting like a bit of a bitch due to her "daddy issues".
The 2001 (A Space Odyssey) inspired finale then goes off
the scale, treating science as mere folly as it presents a moral that we should all trust in love and let it be our guide. Either that or NASA can't be trusted.
It's unfortunate that story descends into incredulity, the
visual effects and production values, like Christopher Nolan's previous movies, cannot be faulted and some of the scenes are very well realised. Perhaps it's ironic that a film about black
holes should have so many plot holes, as well as being so long that you may also feel that decades have passed while you were watching.
8/10
