So with Interstellar director Christopher Nolan wanted to boldly go where he has not gone before. For it's apparent grandiosity and spectacle though, Interstellar might be Nolan's most personal film to date, using the wonderment and visual splendour of science merely as an effective vehicle to drive the very human core of the story. I guess I'd classify it more as a human drama set in space with some fanciful science exposition to weave it all together, and with all it's talk of interstellar travel, wormholes, black holes, Einstein's relativity, it's ultimately about one man's journey through literally space and time to save his daughter. If your looking for an epic all-out sci-fi action film then this really isn't it, although it does boast incredible set-piece moments that will leave your mouth agape, the crux though of the entire film is that family bond which brings it all right back down to Earth instead of becoming lost in space. It is at times numbingly ambitious, deeply profound, genuinely enthralling, exhilarating, and incredibly poignant. I would go as far as to say it's Nolan's best film to date, in fact I would go even further and say Interstellar is one of the finest feats of filmmaking I have seen in the past decade. Not only does it work from a technical standpoint which is something Nolan is known for, but it succeeds completely at a raw and visceral level more so than any film I've seen in years. I left the cinema almost in a daze, at a loss for words, but the one word that eventually came to me was “incredible”, and it truly is. If you want the full experience though I'd definitely recommend seeing it in full 70mm IMAX, it's the only way it must be seen.
Cooper
(Matthew McConaughey) is a former NASA test pilot who now lives a
very agrarian life with his family, father-in-law
Donald, a son Tom and his daughter Murphy.
However, the
Earth's crops are dying, freak dust storms are becoming more frequent
and it's resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Humanity is now
on the precipice and it's up to Cooper along with a group of
scientists, Dr Amelia Brant (Anne Hathaway), Romilly (David Gyasi)
and Doyle (Wes Bentley) to venture beyond the stars in an attempt to
save humanity. To say any more than that really would spoil it, but
know it's an extraordinary, roller-coaster of a journey backed up by
some amazing and at times heart-breaking performances particularly
from McConaughey, Hathaway, Jessica
Chastain
and the ever impeccable Michael Caine who plays Dr. Brant's father.
The entire ensemble though is
fantastic and I must give extra credit to the girl who plays Murph,
her
and McConaughey really do lay down the emotional
anchor
of the entire film, their relationship is at the heart of this epic
tale and without that the film as a whole would
have not nearly been as effective. Where Inception
was
I think more about it's grand ideas backed up with strong
performances and one man's chance of redemption and absolution from guilt, Interstellar
is
more about the indomitable,
infinite
nature of paternal love backed up with
some
extraordinary visual
flair and
ambition. Like
the film itself, it reaches to
infinity and beyond,
yet remains firmly
grounded in
just
raw emotion which punches surprisingly hard throughout the 169 minute
run time. It came as a bit of a shock to me and I'm sure many in the
cinema how emotional Interstellar actually is, I gurantee there
was not a dry eye in that room by the time the credits rolled and
there's no shame in that...much. If there is one minor gripe I can level
at the film is that it may come across as overly sentimental at times,
one particular moment might leave eyes rolling, but this in no way hurts
the overall experience, it's just worth mentioning.
 |
| Cooper and crew on some strange, new world, taking a simple dip most probably...nothing important. |
From
a technical standpoint it's simply outstanding, and everything you've
come to expect from a Christopher Nolan film. There are some
sequences towards the second and final act that are truly
breathtaking, and it's possibly the most cinematic film he's done. It's
dizzying almost particularly towards the end and while I suspect he's
taken some artistic license with the actual science used similar to
the dreams in Inception, it's
used very effectively though and will certainly leave you gasping in awe. There are several homages and nods to sci-fi films of the past like Event Horizon, Contact, Solaris and certainly Kubrick's 2001 which you can tell was a huge inspiration. I would argue that Interstellar may very well be the 2001 of this era; thought-provoking, daring and incredibly grand in scope and ambition. As ludicrous as some of the more fantastical science may seem in this film, it's rooted in actual science with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne serving as executive producer and consultant. Visually though it's on another scale (tried to avoid the tired 'out of this world' pun), it has to be seen to be believed really and I've never seen anything quite like it in a film. The soundtrack by the legend that is Hans Zimmer is also beautifully haunting yet epic at the same time, with a surprising emphasis on the organ here which I think works perfectly particularly in the more tender and affecting scenes. It hits all the right emotions and everything from the beautiful cinematography, the performances and sound, it just really comes together in this majestic coalescence.
Now with all this gushing you might be quick to label me a Nolan "fanboy", or whatever that means, I'm really not. I'm just a lover of a great film and Interstellar certainly is that, but with someone like Christopher Nolan directing it sure I had higher expectations for it. He's clearly established himself as this auteur director, and he's demonstrated that he is among one of the most gifted of his generation. But I went into this film very much the same way I did when I first saw Batman Begins back in 2005, never knew who Nolan was at this point, had not heard of his previous work and thought it may be a cool, new Batman film. Despite Interstellar's long run time of 169 minutes, remarkably it never felt like it was plodding along which is a good thing, maybe not good for cramp though just saying, but I was engaged for the full 169 minutes. It does get going quite quickly and once it takes off (quite literally) it never really lets up after that so buckle up, sit tight and prepare for the greatest trip of the year by far. I hope this will inspire as well as inform cause it is one of those rare films that combines thought-provoking ideas with that inate fascination in us all, I certainly walked away with as many questions as answers which is a good thing. It begs to be analysed and I imagine it will for months maybe even years to come.
The Verdict
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