The film begins on Earth in the near future where Global warming is causing a planet-wide catastrophe. A farmer and ex-test pilot (McConaughey) and his 10 year old daughter (Foy) decipher a mysterious message from a “ghost” that leads them to a secret NASA facility lead by a theoretical physicist who is basically Kip Thorne (Caine) and his daughter (Hathaway). McConaughey is soon convinced to lead a mission to find a new home for humanity on another planet by flying through a wormhole that has appeared near Saturn. The effects of general relativity on time provide a nice plot device whereby McConaughey and Hathaway can explore the universe, while at the same time his now grownup daughter (Chastain) can try to save the Earth.
There has been lots of discussion of Interstellar in the scientific community, even including a movie review that appeared in the professional journal, “Classical and Quantum Gravity.” This discussion has been pretty similar to the reaction to last year’s Gravity, except more intense. This is because Gravity is more of a science-fact movie than science fiction. It portrays events that are well understood and could happen today. The science in Interstellar, on the other hand, is very speculative. It includes Wormholes, Rotating Blackholes, and Quantum Gravity, which are of great interest, but are also not well understood even by theoretical physicists. But, as in in Gravity, great efforts have been made for realism. In particular, I loved the mile-high waves on the water planet caused by the tidal forces from the black hole, and the explosion that kills Dr. Mann has much more impact because it is silent. But, as with most films, a little suspension of disbelief is also necessary.
With Michael Caine and Matthew McConaughey at the start of the movie, the message seems to be that the credo, “to go where no man has gone before” has returned, and that only men can push the envelope, and go exploring, both physically and mentally. But, as the film progresses, the two daughters grow up to be every bit the explorers that their fathers were and maybe a little bit more. The balance tips even more when we meet the so-called “best of them all,” who is named Dr. Mann (Damon) just in case we don’t get it, and he is in fact the worst of them all.
The performances are very strong. Matthew McConaughey continues the reinvention of himself as a serious actor, and the rest of the cast is great. Three remarkable actresses play Murphy, Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain, and Ellen Burstyn. The choice of Foy as the young Murphy is particularly nice as she looks so much like Chastain, but also gives a very good performance. I also need to mention TARS, the robot, voiced by Bill Irwin. TARS is a very enjoyable antithesis of HAL, the cold, murderous computer in 2001, A Space Odyssey. TARS made me laugh out loud several times.
I have seen Interstellar twice, and it held up very well the second time. You could certainly argue that the running time of almost three hours is too long, but the movie does not drag and feels much shorter. I found Interstellar inspirational in the way that 2001, A Space Odyssey was. I feel that consciously or subconsciously, Interstellar is Nolan’s Paean to 2001. I also love that the poignant scenes showing what is happening to the Earth could have been taken right out of The Grapes of Wrath. Interstellar definitely has a Hollywood ending, but that isn’t always a bad thing. I was a bit teary-eyed at the end of the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, you should.
It is a great movie to see on the big screen.
