Interstellar Review

I’ve always thought it was interesting to see that we can usually relate any Christopher Nolan film with one word. Memento is amnesia, The Prestige is magic, Inception is dreams and The Dark Knight trilogy is, well, Batman. With Interstellar, I went in thinking it would be space, or time, or exploration, but the moment the credits rolled, the word that stuck to my mind was humans. Nolan’s most ambitious film to date is riddled with complex science concepts, enormous ambition and beautiful visuals. Its heart, however, is in the characters, and that’s what makes it work.

Set in a world where plagues have decimated food and humans are being taught to only look down, Interstellar features a tangible post-apocalyptic scenario. Here, there was no nuclear war, no zombie infection, but there was apathy, and it hit everyone. We don’t strive to innovate, to research or to figure how things work. Kids are not encouraged to go to college, but to become farmers. Everyone lives in a constant state of acceptance, except Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his daughter Murph (Mackenzie Foy). Their relationship is the heart of the movie, and it’s their decisions that leads us to find out about one last mission, a final desperate attempt not at salvation, but at survival. By the end of Act I, Cooper finds himself joining Dr. Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway) and her father (Michael Caine) on a mission that’ll take them to another galaxy, where maybe, just maybe, we can find a new home.

What follows is one of the most beautiful journeys this side of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Nolan renders space in such a remarkable way, that it’s impossible not to feel like a child gazing at the wonders of our universe for the first time. That almost indescribable feeling of awe we feel when seeing a picture of space’s most beautiful vistas is ever present throughout Interstellar. The images we see during the film’s duration are mind-bending, but never feel fabricated or constructed. They’re natural, simple, clean. We’ve seen worm holes and black holes before, but we’ve never seen them like they are here. Interstellar must be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Nolan sets the stage with such awe and wonder, that he transforms space into a cathedral. The feeling I had while on the theater was that my eyes were making contact with huge, larger-than-life things. That feeling is elevated thanks to Hans Zimmer beautiful and dazzling score. He makes use of organs that give Interstellar a very power feeling. It’s almost spiritual.

There are unbelievable sequences set in space, jaw-dropping images that will definitely rank among Nolan’s most memorable moments, but the script, co-written between Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, works because it knows where the heart of the movie is. And that’s the humans, not only as characters, but as a species. Interstellar is about that urge we feel to discover more, the unsatisfying curiosity that drives us forward, the human spirit of wonder and achievement that led our race to accomplish amazing feats. But it is also about how selfish we can be, and how that selfishness costs us on the long run. Cooper, Brand and Murph, more than any other character, must understand this if the mission is to succeed. Even if their initial motivations are closer to the heart, they must sacrifice if they are willing to succeed.

McConaughey once again delivers stellar work. The man’s on a roll and should be nominated for various awards again. Cooper has a great “every-man” feel, and McConaughey is at home with that. Yes, the big moments of emotion are there and he is just as good as ever, but my favorite scenes where those in which he is interacting with his kids, being a father, trying to figure out what to say or do. I was surprised by Foy’s performance as well. The young girl rises to her challenge and act as an equal to Cooper. Hathaway is also great on space, and I love how rich her acting has become over the years. She shares a great chemistry with McConaughey, and thankfully that does not lead to forced romance, and both of them bring a distinct human quality to the deepest edges of space. Jessica Chastain, whose role I won’t describe in hopes that you don’t know much about her character, is fantastic, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see her name in the talks for Best Supporting Actress.

In a movie with such big scope, it can get hard to understand everything that’s going on, but Nolan manages to that well. Perhaps too well. The filmmaker has struggled with exposition sometimes, and while there were times where he did it very well, such as in The Prestige or Inception, here he stumbles. There are moments where a scientist literally explains what is about to happen and as a result Interstellar holds the viewer’s hand too tightly. I wish Nolan would have trusted us more and let us feel instead of think. There’s a lot to digest here, and I feel like the lasting impact of the movie would have been greater if no one helped us in that process.

That’s not a huge problem though, because this is Nolan’s most human movie to date. Interstellar works because of its heart, the characters. Yes, there is an amazing story here, and the director once again bends your mind with images and twists, but this time, they didn’t take the center stage. That was taken by Cooper and Murph, driven by fantastic performances. I don’t think this is his best movie, but I think this is his most noble one. Interstellar is a movie that lights that singular flame inside us, and hopefully it lead young and old minds alike to look up, wonder, pursue, and once more, achieve.