Christopher Nolan Reaches for the Stars in Interstellar

Sci-Fi is enjoying something of a resurgence at the moment, one that began last year with Alfonso Cuaron's brilliant "Gravity". Though undoubtedly one of the most popular genres out there, these stories have always felt anything but human; the familiar themes that we are exposed to in other genres (such as love, jealousy, grief) always bat second to the eye-popping visual effects employed throughout, a serious case of style vs. substance.

What was so special about "Gravity", was that despite being a film filled with revelatory, groundbreaking technology, at its center was an all too familiar theme: survival. Though faced with a lack of oxygen and metal hurtling at dangerous speeds, Dr. Ryan Stone (played superbly by Sandra Bullock in the best performance of her career) had a bigger challenge facing her; believing in herself enough to find her way back to Earth. Cuaron may have placed us all in an unfamiliar setting, but the story was one everyone could relate to.

So it should come as no surprise then, that the man who redefined the superhero genre is one to continue this Sci Fi renaissance. As he did with "The Dark Knight", director/writer Christopher Nolan brings a gritty, emotional realism to an almost outlandishly cartoon-like genre.

Only this time, there's no caped crusader or madman dressed as a sinister clown and Nolan has traded Gotham City for a desolate planet Earth, set in the near future. This Earth is a shadow of its former self. Once abundantly full of resources, namely food, the human race has nearly depleted their home world of every available resource. Farming has become one of the only jobs left, with corn being the cash crop, and only crop. Dust blows around, threatening to cloud the lungs of everyone nearby, and as our main character Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former astronaut, tells us, "Earth has been telling us to leave for awhile."

That message is heard, and answered, by the remains of a disbanded NASA, headed by Professor Brand (Michael Caine) and his daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway). They recruit Cooper to pilot a mission to save the human race. Their research tells them that a wormhole located near Saturn could be the key to finding a new world, one rich with resources and fit for human inhabitation. The catch? There's no guarantee that any of these worlds CAN be inhabited by humans, and no guarantee of returning to Earth. Despite his reluctance to leave his kids, Murph (played by a very capable Mackenzie Foy) and Tom (newcomer Timothée Chalamet), he sets off into space, promising to return...

But the journey doesn't prove to be as easy as he envisioned. Because the potential planets are located near a black hole, time moves much slower than it does on Earth; 1 hour on the first planet Amelia and Cooper explore translates to 7 years on Earth. Cooper is forced to watch his children grow from the pilot's seat through video messages they record and send him, his heart breaking which each new development. His son Tom (later played by Casey Affleck) grows to be a corn farmer, making the most out of the very little that's left on the barren planet. Murph (Jessica Chastain takes over as the character ages) is taken under the wing of Professor Brand, and devotes her life to trying to find a way to save what's left of Earth and, in her mind, doing what her father failed to do.

The script, co-written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, has a lot of complicated themes and scientific dialogue. What made "Inception" so successful was that the heft of the script's premise relied on fiction, but here, science and facts are what comprise most of the story. It is for this reason alone that the film has a weak spot; it requires an incredible suspension of disbelief to follow it. Nolan is essentially asking you to just let the plot wash over you like a tidal wave. I was a bit reluctant to do so at first; all of the talk of black holes and space travel comes off very hastily and sort of questionable. But what Nolan lacks in scientific understanding, he makes up for with emotion.

Interstellar's scope is large; you could say that this is Nolan's "Odyssey". At its core, is the relationship between Cooper and his daughter Murph, the strongest part of the film, so strong that it makes you forget about the grating scientific dialogue. Matthew McConaughey won an Oscar a few months ago for playing AIDS victim/activist Ron Woodroof, a performance that made critics and audiences alike forget about his previous roles in films like "Sahara". Though hard to believe, McConaughey turns in an arguably more distinguished, and more challenging performance here. As Cooper, he commands the screen in a way that a leading man should, but is not afraid to play up the weaker vulnerabilities of the character. If you thought McConaughey lucked out with his "Dallas Buyers Club" performance, think again. This man is the real deal.

Matching him at every opportunity is Jessica Chastain, who sells so much of the heartbreak and aguish created by Cooper's absence, with half of the screen time. The black holes Cooper faces in deep space are much smaller, and less dangerous than the one left in this little girl's heart, growing with each passing year her dear father remains missing. Though they never (truly) share a scene together, watching McConaughey and Chasten react to one another through their characters' video messages to one another makes it feel as if they're right there together, a testament to the high class acting unfolding in front of us. Hathaway's performance as Amelia is one that will finally shut up the legion of haters who found her "Les Miserables" performance too wanting. She steps back from the deafening cries that dominated her work as Fanzine, silently commanding the film besides McConaughey and proving that she truly is one of the most exciting (emerging) leading ladies Hollywood has.

As with every Nolan film, the film has visually stunning moments; it's clear he was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", paying homage to many of the iconic shots we all recognize from that film. But Nolan also creates some truly jaw droopingly gorgeous moments, that will no doubt inspire young filmmakers in the same way he was inspired by Kubrick. Space is gorgeous in this film, but strikingly different to how we experienced it last year in Gravity, or any other film. Though this is a big budget film (made for $165 million), there is artistic flair and visual grandeur all over the place that you won't find in many big budget projects these days.

Nolan once took us through the streets of Gotham, and planted us directly into the center of a car chase between Batman and the Joker, but told us a story of corruption, mania and morality; the choice between right and wrong. Here, Nolan takes us to different solar systems and through black holes, but the love between a father and his daughter keeps the human blood pumping through the veins of this story. Interstellar reaches for the stars, and reaches its destination through our hearts.



Grade: A

Oscar Chances: It's hard to tell where Interstellar will land; it's divisive. Those who love it, really love it, which helps with a preferential ballot. I'd be surprised if it didn't end up in the final (expanded) Best Picture field (albeit the bottom tier; this isn't top 5 material I don't think). I don't think this will be the film that will land Nolan that elusive 1st Best Director nomination, though I certainly wouldn't begrudge the director his nomination if he did somehow land it. McConaughey should be one of the 5 to get in for Best Actor, but typical Oscar fare (in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne) may hinder his chances. Hathaway's performance isn't one that normally screams Oscar, though anything is possible I guess. As for Chastain, she is the film's best hope for an acting nomination, though her buzzy turn in "A Most Violent Year" may be the one that gets her nominated. Expect, however, Interstellar to be one of the major players in Visual Effects and technical categories.