Review of Solaris (2002) by Stuart K — 27 Apr 2014
Written and directed by Steven Soderbergh, produced by James Cameron and adapted from Polish writer Stanis?aw Lem's 1961 novel, which had become a Russian film made in 1972 by Stanis?aw Lem. This is a slow, meditative sci-fi drama which tries to be as deep and philosophical as 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it feels rushed and it leaves everything up in the air with more questions than answers.
Dr. Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) is a haunted man, mourning the loss of his wife Rheya (Natascha McElhone). He accepts a mission by his friend Dr. Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur) to the space station Solaris, which is orbiting the distant planet of the same name.
When Kelvin arrives, he finds most of the crew are dead or have vanished under mysterious circumstances, and Gibarian has died, and the two surviving crew members Dr. Gordon (Viola Davis) and Snow (Jeremy Davies) don't want to say what happened.
However, when Kelvin goes to sleep, he's haunted by dreams of Rheya, then he wakes up to discover that she's really there. It's a film which tries to be smart and philosophical, but it's trying too hard, and it ends up being a lot less cleverer than it thinks it is.
The film is essentially a chamber piece, which should have been a doddle for Soderbergh, but it comes across as being more dull than informative, but there are some good performances.
This review of Solaris (2002) was written by Stuart K on 27 Apr 2014.
Solaris has generally received positive reviews.
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