Interstellar
Rated: M
Five out five
Now showing
THERE is no film like a Christopher Nolan film.
The director's past works (including Inception and the most recent Batman trilogy) have earned him a cult following and Interstellar only solidifies his status as one of the greatest directors of our time.
Nolan had people hanging out for months to see what this sci-fi film had in store and it did not disappoint.
Set in a time not so far in the future, Earth is quickly becoming uninhabitable.
With crops dying out fast, humanity is living in an almost-constant dust storm, with the planet focused only on farming in the hopes of creating more food.
Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), once a pilot for NASA, struggles with humanity's new way of life.
He still dreams of pioneers and the human urge to keep discovering – a passion which he tries to pass onto his son Tom (Timothée Chalamet) and daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy, later played by Jessica Chastain).
While the outside world shuts out any sign of science and discovery, including technology, Cooper encourages it in his children, particularly in his bright daughter.
It is this encouragement which lead Cooper and his daughter into investigating a 'ghost' in Murph's bedroom.
The 'ghost' which the pair soon discovers to be gravitational fields, lead Cooper and Murph to the secret location of NASA, which Cooper and the rest of society were led to believe no longer existed.
Space travel is still alive within the program; multiple missions had been conducted in finding a replacement Earth.
Still regarded as the program's best pilot, Cooper almost has no choice but to take on the task of saving the world and heading out on NASA's final mission to find a habitable planet – a task which is given to him by Professor Brand (Michael Cane).
Much to his daughter's dismay, Cooper heads out into space with Professor Brand's daughter, also referred to as Brand (Anne Hathoway) and other astronauts to try and find a solution for humanity's predicament.
Interstellar plays out in true Nolan style.
It has a certain authenticity to it, despite the fact this sci-fi film has no hard proof behind its storyline.
The cinematography, while mainly green screen, is picturesque.
While there are many space-orientated films and television shows which are predecessors of the film, the landscapes of the other planets are completely unique – there is not a hint of Star Wars or Star Trek about them.
The soundscape was minimal but exceptional at the same time – Nolan obviously does not underestimate the power of silence when setting the scene.
If anything, the silence is part of what adds such authenticity to the film; after all what would space sound like if not silent?
And then we get to the plotline itself – one which should go down in film history.
While it was not long ago we saw the likes of Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in space for the film Gravity, Interstellar does not seem at all unoriginal.
The story has just the right amount of unexpectedness to be gripping without it coming off as ridiculous.
This is all at the same time as developing the needed characters in order for the viewer to not only be pulled into their story, but be invested in their fate.
Interstellar is not only sci-fi at its best – no doubt paving the way for other movies in the genre for years to come – but it is also film at its best.
This is not just one for the sci-fi fans.
It transcends all genre definitions and will be enjoyed by the majority, if not the entirety, of people who watch it.