Ad Astra (M)
Director: James Gray
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Duration: 124 minutes
I have always been an unabashed fan of science fiction. That is something that I wear on my sleeve, and have done for as long as I have been interested in reading and watching movies. One of my earliest memories of being viscerally affected by cinema was the first time I saw Blade Runner. I don't remember exactly how old I was - I was probably between 12 and 14 - and I don't remember which version I saw, but I remember the way it burrowed itself into my head in the same way The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Interstellar did, and then later on films like Stalker, Solaris, Silent Running and Akira. So I come from a background of loving science fiction, and so therefore I also came to this movie from a place of taking science fiction seriously. It is a genre that, when it is functioning at its most effective, is able to blend huge spectacle and special effects with big ideas and difficult questions. It is fundamentally about individuals, and works best when the outward aesthetics or functionalities of the worlds it explores interact with the internal workings of the characters on screen, and by extension, us.
So I sat in front of James Gray's Ad Astra with a real sense of anticipation, because the last time I saw a really terrific science fiction film in the cinemas was back in 2017 when Denis Villeneuve gave us what I think is one of the best sequels of all time, Blade Runner 2049. I tried my best to read as little about it as possible beforehand, so was pleasantly ignorant to any plot details. The basic set up for the film centres around Roy McBride (Pitt), an astronaut who is sent on a mission to find his long lost father who may have some connection to a recent power surge that threatens the stability of life on Earth. Without going into any more plot details, what we essentially have by the time the action kicks into gear is Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness dramatised in space. Conrad's novel has already famously been adapted in the form of Apocalypse Now, and while it was kind of updated into a space setting with Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, this is a far more faithful and closer updating of the story and themes of Conrad. What I found somewhat surprising, then, was the ways in which it differs thematically to Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness in its final act.
The most immediate area in which Ad Astra really excels is in its technical proficiency and its quite simply stunning visual presentation. There are sequences in deep space that are jawdroppingly beautiful, and credit is due for the way in which Gray and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema captured locations like a colonised Moon (including a pretty spectacular silent chase sequence in disputed territory), dusty red Mars, and more intimate locations like a soundproof room, or the inside of a space shuttle. It all feels real, but with just enough of a sense of heightened reality for it to walk that line of credibility that science fiction so often crosses into campiness or silliness. Having just mentioned the Moon chase sequence, Ad Astra opens with another wonderful action set piece reminiscent of that which opens Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity. It is a perfect attention grabber, and I think the film does a great job of teasing the action it offered so early on without going full-blown action thriller. For some this might mean that there is a tonal inconsistency to Ad Astra - the action sequences do seem slightly disjointed from the rest of the film which is a slow, moody meditation on themes of fatherhood and abandonment delivered through a Ryan Gossling-esque performance and voice-over from Brad Pitt. In fact, comparisons could rightfully be made to Gossling's performance last year as Neil Armstrong in First Man - a man so well trained in concealing emotion and regulating outward appearance that when what is broiling underneath does reach the surface it is more pronounced in its impact and nuance.
Where Ad Astra sadly faltered for me was in its final act. It does a commendable job establishing mystery and tension surrounding what McBride will find at the end of his voyage to Neptune, but like I said earlier it takes an interesting sidestep from the established themes of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness. While the message of the film is clear and concise, for me it left me feeling slightly empty and unsatisfied in its lack of emotional heft or catharsis. And while I commend the film for being bold in its choices and sticking to its guns, I just didn't receive the big emotional payoff that I was wanting and, to be honest, expecting after such a well executed buildup.
Don't let this put you off seeing Ad Astra, though, because original science fiction like this is important for the future of cinema and it is always exciting to see films that take risks and have a bold vision. While I did find flaws in it, the visual spectacle of it should be more than enough for you to feel like you got your money's worth. Add to that a really excellent score from Max Richter (who you should definitely go and check out, by the way), a subtle and quiet performance by Brad Pitt that is literally the furthest possible thing to his other major role this year in Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, some awesome action set pieces, and some smart and well thought out thematic development, and you've got a very solid science fiction film.
Where Ad Astra sadly faltered for me was in its final act. It does a commendable job establishing mystery and tension surrounding what McBride will find at the end of his voyage to Neptune, but like I said earlier it takes an interesting sidestep from the established themes of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness. While the message of the film is clear and concise, for me it left me feeling slightly empty and unsatisfied in its lack of emotional heft or catharsis. And while I commend the film for being bold in its choices and sticking to its guns, I just didn't receive the big emotional payoff that I was wanting and, to be honest, expecting after such a well executed buildup.
Don't let this put you off seeing Ad Astra, though, because original science fiction like this is important for the future of cinema and it is always exciting to see films that take risks and have a bold vision. While I did find flaws in it, the visual spectacle of it should be more than enough for you to feel like you got your money's worth. Add to that a really excellent score from Max Richter (who you should definitely go and check out, by the way), a subtle and quiet performance by Brad Pitt that is literally the furthest possible thing to his other major role this year in Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, some awesome action set pieces, and some smart and well thought out thematic development, and you've got a very solid science fiction film.
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