Interstellar Review

What would the world be like if mankind lost it's desire for discovery? What if we no longer wanted to be pioneers? What if we gave up hope on the world? This is the not-to-distant future that ex-NASA engineer Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) lives in; a hopeless world ravaged by dust storms that has wiped out all major crops except corn. Earth is no longer fit to sustain life, but there is a greater problem...no one cares enough to find a solution. As Cooper says in the beginning of the film, "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt."

But there is still hope for mankind, and Cooper finds it when he and his daughter Murph (played by Mackenzie Fox and then Jessica Chastain as older Murph) stumble across an underground NASA facility led by Professor Brand (played by Christopher Nolan favorite Michael Caine). It is here that Cooper learns that NASA has secretly been searching for another planet that can support life by traveling through a wormhole to another galaxy. If Cooper and a small team of pilots, including Brand's daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway), can travel to the few planets where they have received positive Intel and find a suitable replacement for Earth, then mankind will be able to survive. There is just one big catch: if Cooper embarks on this mission, then he may never see his son and daughter again, and even if he does, they could be older than he is. But in a gripping scene when Cooper is saying goodbye to his daughter, he assures her that they will see each other again. And it is this bond between father and daughter that holds Interstellar together. The idea that love is the only thing that "transcends time and space" is repeated several times throughout the movie.

People often complain nowadays that Hollywood is running out of new ideas, and it would be really difficult to disagree. Out of the thirty highest grossing films of 2014, only THREE of them are not considered a sequel, remake, or adapted screenplay. The filmmaking industry is running low on true visionary directors, but Christopher Nolan remains to be one of the best. And not just one of the best at crafting original stories, but at taking those stories and turning them into big budget epics that don't fall victim to blockbuster clichés. The sad truth is, Hollywood producers will never give a director a $165 budget for an original film with barely any action sequences and explosions. It just doesn't happen....unless your name is Christopher Nolan. And because studios will give him a budget to do anything, we can sit back and enjoy a kind of film that we don't see enough of anymore.

It's a film about space, but it doesn't have giant battles with hundreds of spaceships. It's a film about discovering other galaxies and planets, but it doesn't have CGI heavy aliens and environments. With a box office dominated by super heroes and giant robots, more and more studios are settling for CGI, action, and explosions over character development, original narratives, and most of all, heart! Interstellar is a film that is doing more than telling a story. It has a lesson it is teaching, and it has many greats points for discussion. Discussion about humanity, about love, about science, and about faith, and how they can all connect with one another.

And the film is led by a star studded cast that all give Oscar-worthy performances. Coming off an incredible 2013, Matthew McConaughey delivers yet another compelling performance that will likely score him his second Oscar nomination in a row. At his side is fellow award winner Anne Hathaway whose performance is made compelling by her gentle and calm persona that is trying to cover up a deep sense of emotion. Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine round out the lead cast and both are, as usual, wonderful in their roles. But what really gives life to these characters is that the actors and actresses portray them so naturally making them very relatable characters. Credit should also be given to Bill Irwin, who voices TARS, a unique robot programed to speak with 90% truth and 75% humor.

The film contains several other trademarks of a Christopher Nolan film. One is gorgeous cinematography. Whether we are watching characters race through vast cornfields or travel through a galactic wormhole, the camera work is expansive and beautiful, which can be attributed for Nolan's love for shooting his films with IMAX cameras. Another is unrelenting suspense. There is a great sequence near the end of the film that had my entire row reacting in some way. One person was grabbing their hair, another was rubbing their hands together, I had to lean forward on the edge of my seat; I'm not sure I have ever seen so much reaction to what's happening on screen before, which is a testament to Nolan's directing. Also back for another Nolan film, composer Hans Zimmer, who has become known for developing new and unique scores for Nolan's films in the past, Interstellar is no exception.

As I think about Interstellar, and all that can be taken away from it, I am reminded of Romans 8:38-39,

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

Cooper is faced with numerous obstacles when he ventures out into space. He encounters worm holes, black holes, hostile environments, and many other dangers. Yet his love for his children is more powerful than any of these obstacles, and that love he has is what motivates him to conquer whatever challenge he faces. Though he his countless miles away and many years apart, Cooper and Murph are still connected, because, as Amelia says, "Love is the only thing that transcends time and space." Interstellar is a near three hour epic of though-provoking and emotionally rich film, complete with great performances, a powerful score, and deep questions about mankind. Yet as complex as the story is, at its heart is a simple message: love conquers all.