Interstellar

Interstellar

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Synopsis:
As the Earth slowly dies due to an unending Dust Bowl that causes an agricultural collapse, a team of astronauts led by former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and scientist Brand (Anne Hathaway) blast off into space to investigate a mysterious wormhole that opened up near Saturn.  They travel through the wormhole into another galaxy where there's three alien planets that could support life, but also include strong gravitational forces that affect the passage of time.

Cooper wants to find the planet so his young daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy) and humanity itself doesn't perish, but unforseen circumstances cause them to be delayed, and Cooper is devastated to learn that his little girl has grown into a woman (played by Jessica Chastain), who devotes her life to helping find a way off the dying Earth.

Review:
In 1968, legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick introduced the world to his marvelous epic, "2001: A Space Odyssey."  It captured the hearts and minds of the public, and is still revered today as one of cinema's most epic tales.

In 2014, future legendary filmmaker Christopher Nolan decides to re-visit space with his own marvelous epic, "Interstellar."  However, unlike Kubrick's film, Nolan's has a more cohesive storyline that you can clearly follow from start to finish after the first viewing, but it's still intriguing nonetheless.

The film focuses on several scientific as well as humanistic themes, and to go into detail here would give away major spoilers in the film, so I will not discuss those in detail, but the themes of family, love, and hope are mixed in with scientific themes of wormholes, black holes and time travel in a brilliant and seamless display of pure artistic poetry, brilliantly blending the worlds of science and entertainment into a 169 minute epic that you won't want to miss, and one you won't mind sitting through from start to finish.

The science of the film mostly derives from the work of theoretical physicist Dr. Kip Thorne, who worked closely with Nolan to keep the film as scientifically viable as possible, which adds to the credibility of the film.  One of the things I personally noticed is that whenever they show shots from space, there's absolutely no sound, because in space there really is no sound.  This gives an eerie and otherworldly feel to the film, and helps propel the viewer into experiencing the film in a more visceral way.  The score, which was brilliantly done by composer Hans Zimmer, adds another ethereal aspect to the film, as it literally shakes the seats and is so demanding in its volume that it affects the viewer in a very personal and in-depth way.

One of the most stunning aspects of the film was the cinematography.  Nolan portrays space as a brilliant marvel of creation, giving us dazzling effects that have not yet been seen on screen.  The alien planets, with their gargantuan tidal waves and unforgiving eternal winter are marvels in themselves, and they help tremendously in telling the human drama that unfolds on their planets.

When it comes to acting in this film, there's few that can exceed it.  Three of the four lead roles (McConaughey, Hathaway and Caine) are Oscar winners, and the other lead (Chastain) is an Oscar-nominated actress.  Throw in amazing cameos by fellow Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Matt Damon, as well as Oscar-nominated actors Casey Affleck and John Lithgow, and you've got eight of the best performers of our time, who all give their heart and soul into this product, in order to express complex scientific principles in a way the general moviegoer can comprehend.

A final effect the film had - on me anyway - is a renewed desire to explore the cosmos, to reach beyond what we see here and to see what the vast emptiness of space really has to offer.  Too bad NASA's funding has been cut, and it seems that people don't seem to care about space anymore.  Hopefully after seeing "Interstellar," it will re-ignite the childhood dream to reach beyond and see what mysteries exist out there.

Summary:
"Interstellar" is not just an ordinary film - it is a unique experience, a film that will surely hold through the decades as one of this generation's most stunning work in cinema.

My Rating: A+