‘Interstellar’ Shines Light on What Lies Beyond Our Stars

Jonathan Graves

From acclaimed visionary writer/director Christopher Nolan, (“The Dark Knight Trilogy,” “Inception”) and Paramount Pictures, comes “Interstellar,” the director’s first foray into space that will undoubtedly dust up conversation. Through themes of hope and love, as well as exploration and science that have been influenced heavily by Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, “2001: A Space Odyssey (1968),” audiences are going to be in for a revelation.

“Interstellar” begins with Cooper, Matthew McConaughey, a family man in his forties who has given up on his skill as a test pilot and engineer for crop farming while raising his family through periodic dust storms with the help of his father-in-law, Donald portrayed by John Lithgow, until an anomaly sends him on a journey of mankind’s last hope for salvation. Living on an Earth where resources are scarce and food is in desperate supply, Professor Brand, Michael Caine and his daughter Dr. Amelia Brand portrayed truthfully by Anne Hathaway, have dedicated their knowledge and a lifetime of work into a space mission they believe will be the world’s answer. Hathaway’s dedication to this role is what makes it strong and endearing.

Much of the humor comes from the leads playing off a fully functioning robot named TARS, voiced by Bill Irwin. This performance may be unseen, but oozes personality and brings in a different factor for people who are familiar with Nolan’s other work. The visual practicality of this machine jumps out at you upon its first appearance in the picture and never breaks that wonder. Overall, it’s the family element, specifically the father-daughter relationship between Cooper and 10-year-old Merph who takes after her father in her love for rockets and space, brought to life by the remarkable Mackenzie Foy. Their relationship is the emotional tether that harnesses the film in an obtainable shell filled with astronomical theories and wondrous special effects. It’s this core relationship that builds to a thrilling climax for Jessica Chastain who portrays the same character as Mackenzie, 23 years down the line who has taken in her father’s footsteps during his absence.

“Interstellar” has plenty to say and for a lesser filmmaker that exposition would bog down the film a great deal, however Nolan concentrated on the ideas that were the most tangible. It is the grounded science, even though the script delves into esoteric concepts such as wormholes, which separates “Interstellar” from most sci-fi films in infusing fresh assumptions into the audience’s psyche about what is possible in our lifespan. Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan Nolan, who originally wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielberg, worked alongside the ideas and teachings of Kip Thorne, an American theoretical physicist, known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics and they have achieved with making this one of the most scientifically accurate depictions of the black hole we may ever see in a big budget blockbuster film.

This large budget production allows for the action to reach massive scales and the stakes to grow even greater than you would imagine in this brilliant brain twister of a tale, but it’s never action for action sake. Everything that is in the piece is deliberate, but may come at you at the speed of light. If “Interstellar” is criticized for its massive complexity, it’s because the filmmakers wanted you to believe what you were seeing and for a story like this, that takes a lot to do. Its plot may not be as simple to follow as Nolan’s six time Academy Award Winner Inception (2010), but it’s all there if you put in the effort.

In its gorgeous production design, practical effects and snappy dialogue, rests the brilliance of its execution. It’s this that allows for the film to represent what lies beyond our stars. The science is sound, according to physicists and the spacecraft’s interior designs are on point, according to past astronauts who were brought on as consultants for the actors so what should be said by skeptics? If they are looking close enough all the information is there and it’s glorious. Academy Award Winner Nathan Crowley brings incredible nuance to each set and the special effects team enhances it within each location. These visual aspects will contribute to its award chances come early next year.

“Interstellar” is a cinematic journey that illustrates mankind’s hope, along with its determination in its mammoth sets and visceral ideas that will leave audience’s jaws agape with its theories of what truly is plausible.

‘Interstellar’ launches into theaters on Nov. 7.