Interstellar
Composite Score: 83.86
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy, Ellen Burstyn, John Lithgow, Timothée Chalamet, Bill Irwin, Wes Bentley, Michael Caine, David Gyasi, Casey Affleck, and Matt Damon
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense perilous action and brief strong language
Box Office: $773.43 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Interstellar is Christopher Nolan’s science fiction epic about a group of astronauts seeking a new planet for humanity to move to and the group of scientists back on Earth scrambling to find a way to transport the planet’s remaining population across space to whatever planet they find. The film tackles issues of environmentalism, love, duty, and scientific ethics against the gorgeous (if sometimes barren) backdrop of Nolan’s vision of space and other planets. The film feels like the most emotionally impactful film in the director’s filmography and also has been praised for its technical excellence, receiving Oscar nominations for Original Score, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Production Design and a win for Visual Effects. This also happens to be one of my personal favorite films (26th all-time, if you trust that list on Letterboxd), so I might be a bit biased.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Trying to distance myself from my favoritism, it’s pretty easy to see how someone could watch Interstellar and come to the conclusion that it is just a celebration of Elon Musk’s attempts to colonize Mars couched in an emotionally resonant package. The film’s main protagonists – McConnaughey’s Cooper and Chastain’s/Foy’s Murph – can come across as intellectualist elitists, dismissive of the “simple” life of farmers that so many on their futuristic dying Earth have been confined to. The mission to find another planet feels incredibly defeatist, viewing the Earth as an entirely lost cause (I don’t think I agree with that particular interpretation because of the future setting of the film, but it’s there).
It should also be noted that a lot of the film’s plot hinges (like many of Nolan’s other stories) on convenient plot devices that never receive full explanation. Some of them, as that fun-sucker Neil deGrasse Tyson pointed out, are incredibly scientifically inaccurate, not holding up to the supposed realism that Nolan tries to bring to his films. In reality, most of Nolan’s films just feel grounded in reality because of their drab color scheme and “realistic” takes on social issues – none of them are anywhere near scientific accuracy. Of course, this sounds strikingly like the “shut your brain off” defense of certain blockbuster films that so many people tend to deride in the modern era. For some people, Interstellar will be too frustratingly inaccurate and fictional for its references to actual science and astrophysics to be believable rather than distracting.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
As I mentioned before, Interstellar is a technically excellent film. It looks great, sounds great, and feels great from start to finish. The shots of planets and black holes and wormholes presented with what is arguably a top-3 Hans Zimmer score playing behind them should be enough to get any moviegoer incredibly hyped (or stressed if you don’t do space like that). This visual and auditory excellence carries over to the flight experiences of the crew, the scenes of dust storms back on Earth, and even the “tesseract” scenes at the film’s climax. It hooks you from the start with a simple crash dream and keeps you hooked with scene after scene of intriguing and creative production design.
Interstellar succeeds beyond technique as well, showcasing some of Jonathan and Christopher Nolan’s better storytelling in the process. The story of humanity’s fight for survival against their own selfishness and arrogance lies at the film’s heart – showcased in the stories of Cooper and Murph, Brand and her father, and Dr. Mann. It also toys with Nolan’s favorite concept – time and the ways it isn’t quite as constant as we’d like it to be – as a plot device, useful for building tension and creating even greater and more personal stakes. Finally, its performers bring a level of emotionality to the film that I often find lacking in other films from the prolific director. McConnaughey’s portrayal of Cooper and his relationships with his daughter Murph, his son Tom, and even his co-explorers Brand and Romilly allow the film to pack a big punch by the time it’s all said and done. You’re left not just pondering your place in the universe or your role in saving the Earth from the dismal fate portrayed in the film but also your relationships with your loved ones and the impact that you leave on the individuals you interact with.
With its intellectually and emotionally poignant and engaging script, gorgeous visuals, and excellent sound design, it makes perfect sense that Interstellar would have a place among the Greatest Films of All Time. Some of its scientific inaccuracies might be frustrating to more analytical fans, and its defeatist mindset about the fate of the environment might give viewers pause, but for the most part, it is a phenomenal film about the power of love (and gravity) to transcend time and space and the marvel of human resilience. It is currently streaming on Paramount+ and available to rent on most other streaming services if you need a place to watch it.
