Christopher Nolan, famous for The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception and Memento, has once again brought his A-game to the newly re-sparked
space genre with Interstellar.
Prerelease trailers had defined a rather simplistic movie, but with Nolan
rarely is anything taken at face value. In fact, Interstellar is
just the opposite and perhaps at times over-complex.
In a near future, Matthew McConaughey plays a farmer/ex-space pilot—Copper—in a dying earth that is doomed by frequent sand storms. With the help of his daughter Murph, he “stumbles” on a NASA secret. He then faces a risky journey into deep space with other scientists, Anne Hatheway (Amelia Brand) and Wes Bentley (Doyle), to save his family and the human race. This sets up the premise of the movie but what really takes the viewer in are the relationships between the characters—father and daughter and father and son.
Much like Inception, the movie holds Nolan’s artistic
convictions very close to heart. Interstellar boasts some impressive visual scenes with
some never seen before special effects, especially in the spatial creation of
some of the extraordinary sights in the unforeseen and mysterious universe.
With Gravity’s ground-breaking visual
effects in 2013; it felt like nothing much could have been added to the
space-genre arena but Interstellar
showed otherwise. Gravity
is the winner on the direction and visual scale, but Nolan’s new space
adventure ultimately wins audience’s hearts with its emotional gravitas.
The struggle between Copper and his daughter Murphy during
his “endless” journey is one of the key story lines that drives the
thrill in the movie. It establishes a strong humanistic quality to the film
that will at several occasions make you take out the tissue box. Anne
Hathaway’s character never fits into her role as a scientist, instead she takes
a more accompanying role in the film. Her character ends with an interesting
plotline but rarely is she defined independently. She relays a few thoughts
about the transcendence of love, a recurring theme in the film, but beyond that
not much can be said.
Perhaps its most praised and criticized aspect is its
scientific jargon that at times is enlightening yet also confusing. Its
scientific seriousness in quantum physics adds a realistic touch
to the movie, but for the larger part, it takes away the well-deserving focus
on the others characters’ struggles. With all its intricacy, Interstellar, unsurprisingly, is a movie made for multiple viewings in which things
might become clearer.
Hans Zimmer, frequent collaborator of Christopher Nolan,
once again scores the film’s soundtrack. He effectively reflects the complexity
of the multi-dimensional universe in his cues while adding a small touch of
human drama. The use of the powerful and heart-trembling organs add a novel element to his previously
derivative work. It deepens the musical setting of what already seems a very deep and emotionally complex film. It's safe to say that Zimmer has taken back his spot among the best music producers in the film industry. However, it should be noted that the sound mixing is at
some points overruling, making a recited poem in the film incomprehensible.
