Source: Wikipedia |
"Ad Astra" is a beautiful, suspenseful,
cerebral movie. Action fans are giving "Ad Astra" terrible reviews.
There is a solution to this problem. Action fans should not go see "Ad
Astra"
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is sent to the
edges of the solar system to save life on planet Earth. That's pretty much the
entire plot. Brad Pitt in space is almost the whole show. There is a terrific
supporting cast: Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, and Tommy Lee Jones, but most of
these actors are given precious little to do.
The film places a great deal of emphasis on the physical
fitness required for successful space travel. Brad Pitt's vital signs are
constantly being monitored. And yet we are supposed to believe that the US
government sent Donald Sutherland, looking every minute of his 84 years, into
space. In fact Sutherland's part could be lifted out of the movie and the movie
wouldn't change. I wondered what Sutherland was doing there and thought perhaps
it was to make 55 year old Brad Pitt look young, but Pitt doesn't need it. That
man hit the gene jackpot.
"Ad Astra" is suspenseful. There is the
"Houston, we have a problem" surge scene, that one can see in
trailers. There is the space pirates scene, the bad space monkeys scene, the "Uh
oh, I've inadvertently killed a bunch of people" scene, and a surprising
scene involving travel under water that may or may not be a reference to the
birth canal. These scenes are episodic. They don't build to a larger point.
Characters come and go, but they are not developed. That aspect of the script
was disappointing, but perhaps inevitable. "Ad Astra" is about the loneliness
of an astronaut, and all people's loneliness. It's about an astronaut's
vulnerability, and all of ours. It's about trying to find meaning in lives that
can feel meaningless.
"Ad Astra" also depicts the inevitable Big
Brother aspect of space travel. Here on earth, you can breathe and eat without too
much government intervention. Not so in space. Astronauts are dependent on the
government for the very air they breathe. If a spaceman runs afoul of what the government
wants him to do, he has few options. He can't manufacture his own air.
Set after set shows McBride isolated in punishing
landscapes. Either he is driving around the grey, lifeless moon, or sitting in
a soundproof booth facing the most sinister sound engineers and radio operators
in movie history. There's an environment that is designed to be comfortable and
reassuring, and it's one of the creepiest sets of all. I love the wrinkles in
the wallpaper.
"Ad Astra" depicts an unflattering view
of space travel. This isn't "Star Wars" or even "Star
Trek." It's closer to, but more coherent than, "2001, A Space Odyssey."
Hal isn't a mistake here. Hal is a necessary part of the system. Humans trash
space just as they trash the earth. Everything that is cheap and tacky on earth
ends up in space, as well.
Unlike most other space movies, "Ad
Astra" mentions earth-bound religious practice. An astronaut prays to St
Christopher. What becomes of him can be taken as a statement about Catholic
faith by the filmmaker, James Gray, who comes from a Ukrainian Jewish background.
Even though some will see "Ad Astra" as
a cold movie, there is a scene where Brad Pitt cries. It's one of the most moving
crying scenes I've ever seen. "Luke, I am your father" is one unforgettable
space movie scene involving fathers and sons. For my money, this scene in
"Ad Astra" is more powerful. Max Richter's score is one of the best
film scores I've heard.
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