Thoughts on Interstellar (2014)
From the very first wave of booming rumbles that erupt from the speakers, vibrating every inch of the anticipating audience, it is inherently clear why Nolan’s latest offering, Interstellar, is leaving its impression on movie-going publics worldwide. This Sci-fi epic, that takes us on a journey through, time, space, and dimensions, is as thrilling a spectacle for the senses, as it is cerebral and engaging for the mind.
We begin on a dying Earth, in what seems to be the wake of an apocalyptic event. Dust has settled everywhere, crops are dying, and humanity is left clutching at the last straws of civilisation. Former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), along with his daughter, son, and stepdad, are among those attempting to live out a meaningful existence in a world seemingly devoid of any hope. Everything changes however, when mysterious anomalies in Earth’s gravity lead Cooper and his Daughter, Murphy to the gates of a secret facility, in which a mission to save the last of humanity from oblivion is almost underway. Cooper, along with Brand (Anne Hathaway), and a team of Astronauts, must journey through a mysterious wormhole opened within the solar system, to far reaching areas of space where they must meet up with fellow astronauts, who have scouted and explored suitable habitats to which human civilization can emigrate.
For a film billed as a blockbuster epic, Interstellar seemingly transcends the more conventional boundaries of previous films in the blockbuster production line, as it nurtures a story that is grounded in as much human emotion, and tenderness, as it is thrilling, space-exploring adventure. We see the story of a father torn between the salvation of his species, and his undying love for his family. The film repeatedly creates a duality between the factual logic and sensibility of what we ought to do, and the passionate, irrationality of what our human emotions of love and fear implore us to do. Aided by the appearance of the HAL-9000-esque cyborg in TARS, we are provided with juxtaposition between unimpeded logic and human emotion. Ultimately, we are left with an overwhelming feeling that it is our humanity, and our inexplicable connections of love that reach across the infinity of space, that provide us with a constant that is capable of surpassing all boundaries of time, space, and dimensions. The love between a father and a daughter, and an audacious inability to let go of those we hold dear to us, is what will ultimately be the saviour of humanity.
To put it simply, I would argue that Interstellar is capable of becoming one of the greatest cinematic experiences of our time. Far above and beyond the realms of competing, spectacle driven blockbusters, Interstellar comes very close to being considered a masterpiece. Sadly, despite its bold and unique approach to the blockbuster, it does create problems for itself, that ultimately prevent it from elevating to levels of cinematic royalty. The problems begin with its inability to liberate itself from the shackles of a conglomerate Hollywood, and truly immerse itself in a narrative environment that would allow for a greater level of expression, and thematic exploration. The problems, in my opinion, begin with the casting. The likes of Matthew McConaughey, among A-listers including Michael Caine, Matt Damon, and many other familiar names, are seemingly present to assert the film as a big hitter, in a fiercely competitive Blockbuster market, rather than to provide us with a truly immersive exploration into the characters. As well as possessing an unfortunately drawling, mumbling southern-American dialect, that provides little contest to a sometimes-overwhelming soundscape, Matthew McConnaughey seems to struggle to shake off the well-established familiarity of his household status, despite what must be admitted to as a very sound performance. Narratively, despite using advanced physics, and complex theories on space-time and dimensions as a device to justify aspects of the narrative, as well as possessing qualities of storytelling and chronology (or lack thereof) that regular viewers of Nolan may be familiar with, Interstellar still feels as though it is pandering to a wider movie going audience on a surface level. At times, it feels as though the film is attaching itself to the formulaic structure of the blockbuster films that preceded it. While watching Interstellar, I couldn’t help but feel as though the pressures of a film carrying the status of Blockbuster provided a hindrance to what could have been referred to as a cinematic masterpiece of the ages. It has moments of sheer brilliance, yet too often I found myself comparing the imagery, and thematic explorations to the illustrious history of Sci-fi masterpieces, such as the unavoidable 2001: A Space Odyssey, and its ability to further develop its notions of human evolution and development through space, without being confined to the boundaries of conventional Hollywood, and the emphasis of profit and mass marketing over cinematic artistry.
For the most part, despite offering a criticism that perhaps cannot be helped given the climate in which a film of this proportions has to be released, I found Nolan’s Interstellar to be fantastic, spectacular, intelligent, and above all, human. It’s a spectacle for an age obsessed by experiences and images, and a narrative journey that will challenge, yet encompass a mass market blockbuster audience, accustomed to the passive consumption of more traditional high budget film experiences. Its reliance on a Hollywood system, that craves narrative simplicity and structural familiarity over artistic authenticity, however, is what ultimately keeps Interstellar from truly reaching the status of film royalty. As one reviewer quite adequately put it, this film is an ‘almost masterpiece’.
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