Interstellar
Dir: Christopher Nolan
2014
****
Interstellar follows an idea that film producer Lynda Obst and theoretical physicist Kip Thorne had together when on a blind date. Their idea of time and space travel through wormholes was used in the 1997 film Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, also staring Matthew McConaughey. However, Interstellar is a completely new look at the idea. The premise had been floating around Hollywood for some time until Steven Spielberg handed it to screenwriter Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan Nolan suggested his brother Christopher should direct and the rest is history. To their credit, the Nolan brothers did their research, even meeting up with Kip Thorne to discuss the film's realism. It's all theory but all based on intelligent thinking and some scientific proof. Personally I think the film is somewhat flawed but as a sci-fi fantasy film it's almost perfect. Christopher Nolan has clearly been influenced by the likes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 2001: A Space Odyssey and while Interstellar is a like too like both films at times, I can see why he would want to emulate both films style, like he said himself; "The movies you grow up with, the culture you absorb through the decades become part of your expectations while watching a film. So you can't make any film in a vacuum. We're making science-fiction, you can't pretend 2001 doesn't exist". He's a director with a creditable body of work to his name, I completely understand where he is coming from, even though I thought the film's robot character TARS was a complete copy of both 2001's HAL and one the films Monoliths. The big twist reveal is also reminiscent of 2001's iconic finale. However, Interstellar has plenty of ideas it can call it's own. The way it shows time as a commodity is brilliant and really gives the film the intensity other space films don't have. It is mostly unpredictable and is certainly never rushed. It's fair to say Nolan indulged himself in the film but it is also an indulgence for the viewer. It's a long film, nothing is rushed but then nothing is left out and all the important aspects of the story and situation are addressed. It is ridiculous and beautiful, not perfect but leaves the viewer with a lot to think about. It's fairly free of schmaltz but I didn't like the ending at all and I wish it had ended ten minutes earlier than it did, all good sci-fi films either end in mystery or darkness, Interstellar's had neither, making me wonder if Spielberg/the studio intervened. It's a tribute to classic space travel sci-fi that brings something a little bit new to the table.