We here at MovieFloss apologize for the time it’s taken to get the review for Interstellar up, but even seeing it over 10 days ago, we are still having a hard time wrapping our minds around the film as a whole. I’m going to try my best to not spoil anything but if you wish to remain a tabla rasa and see the film without any idea… ask yourself why you clicked on the link to a review of the film and then leave the page.
As most Nolan fanboys have come to know Interstellar is the most recent release of mind blowing, space traveling, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-films from the old school director. Nolan is one of the last directors to solely film all of his movies on actual film. Some of you like myself may ask the simple question: – how did they do explosions/any other visual effects so common in science fiction films? And to be honest MovieFlossers I’d love to give you an answer but this isn’t a schoolhouse and I’m not your teacher but I can tell you if you go to the Interstellar wikipedia page and click on Visual Effects it will give you a slightly better understanding of how that is done. Now back to the review.
Starting out like most other “end of the world is nigh” films, we are set in the exposition of a family farm, where corn is being grown by the earful. The planet is currently suffering from Blight, a spreading disease, that is effecting all life on Earth causing crops to die out, which leads to famine and death of the planet. Here we meet Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), his son Tom (Timothèe Chalamet), and his daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Foy) they are farmers but not just any old farmers with a pitchfork and overalls, Engineer-Farmers. Cooper is an ex-NASA pilot who has a keen eye for space exploration and teaching his kids the fundamentals of engineering. The family eventually discovers plans for a secret mission led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine) to send a group of astronauts to find the next Earth and begin the process of saving all of what remains of humanity and of course Cooper has to be the pilot.
Now this is where I’m going to stop for plot. The reason being that this is all you see in the trailer and its about as much as you need to know before heading in to the film. Here’s the equation again (Earth Dying + ex-NASA Pilot – two young children + space exploration + save the WORLD multiplied by XYZSPOILERS = Interstellar.)
What I can tell you about the other 2/3 of the film is this, there will be spinning, there will be explosions, there will be a few twists and turns but mostly there will be moments where you think in your head “how the hell did they do that and what the hell is ‘that’?” I think the best acting in the film really came from the people who remained on Earth, Mackenzie Foy, and her elder counterpart, Jessica Chastain have amazing depth in all of their scenes and bring a part of humanity to the role very easily. Caine yet again does amazing with so little time on screen, whereas McConaughey is mostly on screen throughout the film and although he is believable and motivating I just didn’t find as compelling.
The cinematography, visual effects and storyline are extremely complex and equally vibrant. I suggest seeing the film in any form of FILM as much as possible simply because that’s the way Nolan intended the film to be seen and supposedly there is a subtle difference in the look or feel of the film. *
As a whole this movie is definitely going to land itself in the arms of multiple awards coming up next season and after watching the film you too will understand why, even if you don’t just let it marinade for a few days like I did. In a sense of interesting storylines and character development I felt that the story was an intriguing commentary on the way our society values exploration in todays day and age. It made me think of how often people don’t find or discover things anymore, we currently live on a planet that has been mapped and re-mapped for centuries and gets a clearer and clearer picture of itself everyday. Yet somehow we are still missing the point of discovery all of the time, we are missing the chance to explore our limits, test our strengths and push ourselves into an unknown. I suggest to you MovieFlossers to take a younger audience with you to this movie and incite in them something that maybe hasn’t been ignited ever before, an air of mystery and wonder. You never know if the next generation of engineers and NASA pilots may be our saving grace in the future.
*It’s important to note that I saw Interstellar on 70 MM IMAX which is RIDICULOUSLY HUGE than what the average moviegoer will see this film in. In my experience, as a person that suffers from motion sickness I wish I had sat a few rows further back from the screen so as to not feel entirely immersed into the scenes, which definitely left me feeling very wobbly.
