My God! It's full of stars!
That quote is from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it's certainly apt for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is the ensemble cast. The headliners did an exemplary job, but kudos must definitely go to Mackenzie Foy (who played young Murph), Timothee Chalamet (who played the adolescent Tom) and Casey Affleck (who plays the adult version of Tom) as well as the actors who voiced the robots, TARS and CASE. I never got to see Stanley Kubrick's landmark film in the theater (I wasn't born at the time), but having watched it later in life, and having watched Interstellar, I got a sense of deja-vu. Lastly, stars refers to the vastness of space and its beauty, which Christopher Nolan and his cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema gave us in spades. Trust me when I say that you will marvel at the phenomenon known as Gargantua.
Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.
No, Sir, it most definitely was not. While the harshness of space is briefly touched upon in the conversation between Cooper and Romilly, to which Cooper responds, "Some of the best 'round the world sailors don't know how to swim.", it's flat out exhibited in Gravity how scary and uninhabitable it can be. Humanity has always been explorers, from Polynesian sailors of centuries past to present day extreme sportsmen and sportswomen, scientists, adventurers, etc. We've always had the need to overcome, to push beyond our limits. This is explored in great detail in the film, albeit it in situations of great adversity. That gritty determination to never give up is represented very early on in the film by Murph. Her character is as much the lynch pin on Earth as Cooper is in space. Both never give up. Both are extremely determined. Both are extremely stubborn. It's that attitude that has allowed Humanity to progress from one technological / medical / scientific / literary / Renaissance marvel to another. In Interstellar, we witness the ultimate marvel of a species being able to save themselves from extinction. It's said in numerous scenes that gravity (the force) is present in all dimensions, however small or great. Gravity also represents being grounded, in your personality, in a particular situation. It's no coincidence that Cooper's ship is called the Endurance. The one person who was anything but grounded was Dr Mann (ably portrayed by Matt Damon). Incidentally, I didn't expect his cameo (if I can call it that).
I watched the behind-the-scenes feature where Nolan, Kip Thorne and others discuss how they created and filmed the black hole. One image really stood out for me; the one where Kip is busy writing the equations on how to defeat gravity, with Jessica Chastain smiling in the background. I have no doubt that those equations pertained to either Kip's theories or graphical algorithms for lighting and filming Gargantua. It's this attention to detail that really impresses me about Nolan's movies.
Nolan also studiously avoids letting us know how far into the future this story takes place on Earth. We don't see too many improvements in technology. If anything, humanity is actually regressing (as evidenced by the scene in school where Cooper says that if there was an MRI machine left, it would've diagnosed the cyst in his wife's brain).
We're still pioneers, we barely begun. Our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, cause our destiny lies above us.
The problem that Professor Brand and Murph struggle with is one that has plagued mathematicians and astrophysicists for decades; how to send Humanity to the stars, en masse. When I was in senior Primary and later, junior High School, I used to always marvel at artists' Utopian illustrations of Humanity exploring the stars. What Nolan has given us is something that is, while far from Utopian (except at the way-station at Saturn where Cooper is rescued), it is no less noble and magnificent. Make no mistake, this is an incredible story, and it's brilliantly told by Nolan and his team. For a film of this subject matter, it would've been so easy for him to alienate his audience, but he ensures that we have a basic understanding of time dilation, gravity and 5th-dimension Tesseracts.
I've noticed that Nolan, in his last 2 films (The Dark Knight Rises and this film) explores the theme of Humanity rising above itself. I'm not sure if he's mellowing out (if I can call it that), but I definitely like it.
Touching upon the performances of the cast, it's hard not to single out Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain (and to a lesser extent, Ellen Burstyn) for the 2 scenes that really pulled (not tugged) at my heartstrings; the first is where Cooper arrives back from Dr Miller's planet and reviews the transmissions from Earth, of an adult Murph and Tom. His emotion is so raw and...honest, that I couldn't help but feel his pain as both a parent and a son. Leaving behind his daughter under less than ideal circumstances really cut home. That scene destroyed me, as a parent of a 5-year old who is every bit as stubborn as young Murph. The second poignant scene for me was where Cooper meets an elderly Murph, who is close to dying, and she tells him that a parent should never have to see their child die. It's especially sad as he only knew her up to 10 years and no more.
I watched Interstellar once in IMAX, in a Dolby Atmos equipped theater. Hans Zimmer's score was different to what he normally does for other film, as it should be as this film charts uncharted territory. There were times though, where I felt that his score overwhelmed scenes and I couldn't hear what was being spoken. A lighter touch would've been better served. For the trailer(s), Thomas Bergersen's (one half of Two Steps From Hell) beautiful, haunting music from his album, Sun was used. It's especially fitting that the chosen track was called Final Frontier.
I will want to watch Interstellar again in a movie theater. I'm sure that I'll be able to pick up additional story elements. I will also be purchasing the film in an almost assured Steelbook(TM) release. If McConaughey is not (at least) nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, then there's no justice in the World.
