Interstellar ****

With concerns about our planet’s ailing health, and our renewed interest in what lies ‘out there’ among the stars, The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan’s new apocalyptic sci-fi Interstellar couldn’t come at a better time to play on our fears and curiosity. It’s set in a parallel ‘now’ on Earth that feels alien, even though it could just been around the corner as a possible reality. This odious atmosphere creates civil unrest and an instinct to literally explore our wider horizons. In this sense, we tap into the lead characters’ strong will to survive.

As the Earth’s atmosphere is changing, making it increasingly uninhabitable, a team of explorers that include farmer and former NASA space shuttle engineer/pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and scientist Amelia (Anne Hathaway) are launched into space to find a possible planet that can sustain our existence in another faraway galaxy.

Naturally Nolan, the film has a foreboding presence made all the more disturbing by our imaginations running riot. The ‘enemy’ is mankind itself that has created the current situation. Nolan skilfully compares man’s selfish nature in a couple of intimate subplots with the universe itself (and their insignificance to it). The result makes us seem more ignorant and vulnerable. It is a sobering realisation.

Although there is a sense of urgency as the explorers navigate new worlds, Nolan’s film never seems rushed. There is a natural passing of time, even as the explorers’ aging process stands still. In fact, there is a wealth of information to Interstellar to digest – too much sometimes when it comes to the quantum physics angle. In true Nolan style, he delivers one of his most cerebral films yet. This is not a film for parking your brain outside the cinema. It requires an investment and then some – possibly a second viewing.

With the likes of award-winning actors McConaughey and Hathaway on board, Nolan’s film matches its wealth of subject matter with a richness of A-class acting talent. McConaughey is fully engaging as Cooper, a family-centric father who has to make the ultimate sacrifice. It feels like the part the actor has been waiting for, after recent winning performances. McConaughey is no stranger to having to dominate the frame while surrounded by or causing controversy. Cooper has an edgy side, making him a fascinating to watch. He is also our ‘guide’ throughout the adventure. What happens to him and Hathaway’s characters is head-scratching stuff. Again, attention needs to be paid to get the most out of Interstellar.

Enveloping the human drama is some stunning production design and cinematography as each landscape is as much an organic player. This gives the film an additional dimension to be studied. There are also pockets of action as things go less than smoothly on the mission, counterbalanced by activity back home that heightens tension and breaks up the mind-blowing science on offer. Beware an (unintentionally) amusing element at times when Nolan’s answer to the universe appears to be ‘love conquers all’. Maybe it does.

Interstellar is a powerful smorgasbord of scientific and faith-related ideas wrapped up in an intergalactic adventure. It blows the mind in its reasoning while simplifying the importance of us preserving our quality of life and our communications. This is Nolan in scintillating freefall. Just tune in for the ride or you will get left behind.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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