Review of The Astronaut's Wife (1999) by Penelope D — 09 Sep 2015

I'm not sure why I didn't catch this the first time I watched it, but this film is really just "Rosemary's Baby" with a sci-fi twist. I hadn't seen this film since it was first released on video and it's one that was always memorable to me, but it's also one that I wasn't all that impressed with either.

The film features a handsome cast with Johnny Depp as an astronaut who returns from space just a bit off and different and Charlize Theron plays the titular wife. Theron soon becomes pregnant and then begins suspecting her husband is not really himself anymore.

That's really the same story as "Rosemary's Baby" where Mia Farrow became pregnant and starts to suspect that her husband in in league with a coven of witches. What that film did so well si that it focuses on whether Rosemary was going crazy or if it was really happening to her.

This film instead focuses more on unravelling the mystery of what happened to her husband in space,w which is not nearly as interesting of a story. However, as I said earlier, this film is one that did always kind of stick in my memory because of a strong performance by Theron, an uncharacteristic performance for Depp (playing a cocky blond haired, southern good ol' boy Top Gun type of character), directions that had a visual style that was stylish but not Michael Bay-distracting, an excellent score by George S.

Clinton (which I actually own after my first viewing and I had to get out again after rewatching it) and also a memorably filmed final death scene. Underused actor Joe Morton also gives a strong supporting role and I also remember getting a kick out of seeing Clea DuVall playing an attractive character as Theron's younger sister instead of her usually dark and dowdy characters.

You also get Nick Cassavetes, Samantha Eggar, Blair Brown and the great Tom Noonan in small roles. While I think the script lets down all these other fine points, I'd still be very interested to see writer/director Rand Ravich get behind the camera again because I really do think he had a very distinct and sensual approach to his direction.

He may have been greatly helped by ace photographer Allen Daviau, but it's hard to say since this was Ravich's sole putting as a director. Overall, this is a flawed and derivative story, but it does have some elements that make it very much worth watching.