Christopher Nolan is an event filmmaker, a man with a singular cinematic vision who can straddle both the bombast of Hollywood tentpole-land and the invigorating and intelligent cinematic mindset of the indie film world.
Therefore, proclaiming his sci-fi masterwork Interstellar as his finest achievement to date puts it in the same category as 2001: A Space Odyssey right now without the usual waiting period for declaring that a film has historic significance. Interstellar is a visual feast that explores the universe and an intimate drama that explores why love and devotion are qualities that make the human race worth saving.
A key component in Interstellar is the performance by Matthew McConaughey. Nolan has found the perfect muse for his exploration of what makes us human in McConaughey, who has reignited his passion for acting in a remarkable comeback the last several years.
Interstellar, written by the director and his brother Jonathan Nolan, begins as an indie drama about a family trying to survive on a planet that has turned against them. This isn't about a plague or nuclear war decimating the earth; it is literally about the earth, the dirt, which can no longer provide enough food. Drought and famine have taken their toll and the Cooper family, led by McConaughey and his beloved daughter Murf (Mackenzie Foy as a child, Jessica Chastain as an adult), are fighting for survival, especially when the frequent and violent dust storms tear across the landscape.
The earth is a few decades away from being a barren rock that can no longer sustain life. A new home must be found if the human race is to survive.
This brings us to phase two of Interstellar, finding that new home. What is left of NASA's engineers and scientists have been secretly looking for that home. A wormhole in our solar system has offers a last chance to explore distant solar systems for an inhabitable planet. Dr. Brand (Nolan regular Michael Caine) recruits Coop, a former NASA astronaut, to lead a last chance charge into the abyss of space to save the world, asking him to leave his family behind. Brand's engineer daughter Dr. Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway) is also part of the crew.
Once in space, Nolan unleashes his spectacular visuals with a nod to 2001 in the form of several likable robots with a wiseass attitude, and the team's ride into the wormhole that is reminiscent of Contact, a film that also featured McConaughey.
Posted by Unknown on Friday, November 7, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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