3.5 Convoluted-Scientific-Fever-Dreams out of 4
I understand why other people, and other critics, might not have enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar as much as I did. Its script is clunky, its ideas contrived, and its overall quality is indicative of a level of self-indulgence not seen since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, audiences and critics alike should recognize that comparing a director to Kubrick, and claiming that their film is a similar reflection on the cinematic form, is simply one of the highest praises an individual can deliver.
Telling the story of former NASA pilot Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, the latest Nolan feature centres around a team of scientists’ mission to find an acceptable planet that can serve as the new home for an exorbitant numbers of humans.
Interstellar is a science-fiction film obsessed with science. The film wraps itself in a protective cloak of Hawking, Einstein, and Thorne, and instead of stumbling with complicated scientific jargon, the film sprints with an exciting, fast-paced, oft-intelligent story. Basking in the iridescent glow of astrophysics and radio astronomy, Christopher Nolan builds a puzzle-like film whose contrived pieces all fit perfectly into place.
Interstellar is a science-fiction film obsessed with science.
Written by two Nolan brothers, Jonathon and Christopher (with Christopher directing), Interstellar tells the story of a planet on the brink of collapse. Crop damage and environmental disasters have led to widespread starvation, while society has restructured to place emphasis on solving internal matters instead of taking to the stars. In Interstellar‘s future, space is no longer the final frontier, but a frontier with no explorers. So absorbed with Earth are Terrans, that NASA no longer functions or exists.
The Nolans brothers’ script looks to a dark, and grim future, where scientific wonder has been replaced with unyielding pragmatism. If there is a glimmer of optimism, it’s that Interstellar‘s future has no militaries, and no war.
However, the film’s philosophy and idealism is unarguably undercut by a clunky script riddled with weak dialogue. Cinematically speaking, the film unknowingly explores an artistic paradox: what happens when superb actors deliver superb performances that are hindered by weak character interaction? A talented cast led by McConaughey is forced to coallesce with one another in a script whose humanity is greatly lacking.
This is undoubtedly a film founded on exploring the depths of scientific possibility, and its non-human talent accentuates this fact. Nolan’s directing is phenomenal, and the manner in which his camera works with both definitions of space is powerful and mesmerizing. A particular scene has a ship placed between Earth and star-punctuated darkness. The sheer smallness the audience feels is only highlighted by the absurd immensity of the shot, and it’s remarkably easy to get swept up in the momentousness of it all.
Frequent Nolan collaborators Lee Smith and Hans Zimmer return to edit and score the film respectively, while Hoyte van Hoytema joins for the first time, lending his talents to the film’s cinematography. These three artists create the film’s sordid universe, and exceptional praise must be given to Zimmer, whose organ-heavy score alone creates most of the the film’s emotional weight.
On the topic of the film’s adherence to astrophysical principles: owing that this is scientific fiction, and not scientific literature, it’s incredibly easy to criticize decisions made by the scientists in the film. In the name of entertainment, an audience must suspend their disbelief in order to truly enjoy the film. This is to say that the film’s science isn’t perfectly sound; chief example: why travel to other planets when Mars is right next door?
As art can, and should sometimes do, Interstellar takes the real world and molds it to a vision that produces emotion and affect in its audience. This is a film devoted to possibility and exploration, and it is a film that begs its audience to consider their grand universe. “Look to the stars,” Nolan seems to argue. “Look to the possibilities beyond your planet, and see what the universe holds in store.”