Interstellar

Released 7th November 2014, Interstellar follows astronaut / engineer Cooper as he joins NASA to enact humanity’s last hope of finding a hospitable planet for human life. The hardest thing about collecting my thoughts about this film is that there is such an array of things being shown to the audience that it is hard to summarise the film, whilst still doing it justice. The film instantly establishes a dystopian future which suffers from humanity’s use of the Earth; usage which has clearly thrown the planet’s systems off balance resulting in prominent sandstorms, crop failure, etc. Every character takes a different perspective on facing this crisis and subsequent survival instincts; some embodying a sense of humanity and compassion, others making hard choices in the name of survival.

Within the varied cast there are no bad performances; everyone gives it their all. Michael Caine brings his regular charisma and grandpa tone to Professor Brand whilst also providing an appropriate edge. On the inverse we see Jessica Chastain provide a very jaded personality which generally engulfs her loving intentions and wishes. Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley and David Gyasi each give enough expression to Cooper’s fellow astronauts; Hathaway being the better of the three as Brand. The ultimate standout however is Matthew McConaughey as Cooper. McConaughey is comical with timing, serious with intent and is exasperating in key moments of emotion; his performance moved me to tears with his dedicated vocal strain and physicalised outbursts.

Another part of the film which induced great emotion was the soundtrack. In one of Hans Zimmer’s best scores, he utilises fresh motifs to underscore grand scale, deep emotions whilst also knowing when to hold back and let the realism and visuals speak for themselves. There is a reason that the VFX in this film won an Oscar; they are completely flawless in their quality and the establishment of realism. In typical Nolan fashion, the film manages to border fiction with such a devotion to naturalism by encompassing the sound and visual design to maintain the realism i.e., the quietness of space. Overall, this film strives for excellence in every technical category and excels in purely cosmic proportions.