Review of Interstellar (2014) by Foxgrove — 08 Nov 2014

Here we go again reviewing yet another failed giant which clocks in at a butt numbing 169 minutes. It's an ambitious but flawed venture that is big in concept, big in budget and explores big themes. Sadly what this all adds up to is a big disappointment. The story, full of as many holes as there are black ones in space, is a mish mash of ideas which never really gel and one never quite gets a hold of what the point of it all is. The actors don't offer much by way of compensation either. Anne Hathaway shouldering the worst of the dialogue is the biggest casualty here, but Michael Caine is also tiresome as is Matt Damon who adds nothing. Matthew McConnaughey is better, but whatever emotion or empathy the film generates, and there are some very moving moments, are purely due to the wonderful Jessica Chastain. The film's biggest asset is her performance, although it's good to see film legend Ellen Burstyn showing all the others how it's done in just one tiny scene.

The banal dialogue is often gibberish and causes the rolling of one's eyes in disbelief or embarrassment. Nearly all scenes are over extended and often one is inclined to tune out long before they are finished. The special effects are good, but aside from a couple of sequences (a huge wave and the final set piece involving McConnaughey and Chastain),there really isn't much that we haven't seen before. The music comes on strong and sounds like an extended version of Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' from 1973's 'The Exorcist', co incidentally starring Burstyn in one of her finest roles.

The sound is very loud and effective during the set pieces, but is then often inaudible during simple dialogue exchanges between characters. I have no idea what Anne Hathaway was mumbling at the end in so pained a manner.

There are some marvellous compositions of the outside of the spacecraft filmed in complete silence, which are then judiciously cut with the sound included inside the ship. More of this and less dialogue would have been appreciated all round. Another gimmick that serves little purpose was the almost inevitable inclusion of the robot TARS. I would have recommended the removal of his power pack.

Director Christopher Nolan is certainly full of ideas but, unfortunately, they are never fully realised. He comes over like a young boy trying to communicate a passion or a hobby that no one else gets. His direction is over indulgent and left me confused and bored. Perhaps after two dramatic failures (Inception was very similar in style, but an even worse film!) he should try his hand at comedy. After all laughter in a cinema in infinitely preferable to sleeping.