2001: A Space Odyssey meets Gravity to birth really long, never ending film…
Christopher Nolan’s work on the Batman franchise and much loved modern classics Inception and Memento ensured that Interstellar would be the most hyped film of the year. Already boasting eight Oscar nominations and ranking an astonishing #23 on the revered IMDB top 250, Nolan’s sci-fi brain twister is certainly receiving unprecedented levels of attention. Is Interstellar worthy of the hype? There is definitely a lot to admire here…
The script does not shy away from hard science, but Nolan always holds the audiences’ hand when things get a bit too technical. McConaughey is very good, particularly in the more harrowing, emotional scenes but he is in danger of being typecast as a Texan oddball talking in hushed tones. As Cooper, McConaughey manages to pull off devastated, doting father and full on action hero in the same role, as well as being compellingly intense throughout. Nobody really competes with McConaughey when sharing the screen with him (aside from John Lithgow in earlier scenes) but Jessica Chastain impresses as Cooper’s daughter Murphy and it is nice to see Casey Affleck in a relatively big role considering recent failures.
However, the main triumph throughout Interstellar is Hans Zimmer’s absolutely jaw-dropping score. Some of the more lengthy, boring scenes (of which there are many – more on that later) still remain engaging due to Zimmer’s masterful cacophony, and this is actually the only area in which Interstellar is a rival for 2001: A Space Odyssey (beloved by Christopher Nolan – indeed, its influence looms large throughout the entirety of Interstellar).
So, Interstellar deserves all the plaudits then? Not quite, for me. Despite the heavy subject matter this is still a movie drenched in familiar Hollywood tropes. Possibly the only film to have more endings than Return of the King, Interstellar feels like it is never going to finish, with each new revelation taking impact away from what has preceded it. The constant allusions to love-holding-the-key go from grating to downright ridiculous when Anne Hathaway delivers a soliloquy that wouldn’t be out of place in a Sex and the City movie, and some of the more emotional scenes fall a bit too close to being deliberately emotionally manipulative for my liking.
To conclude, there are two fundamental problems with Interstellar. Firstly it is far, far too long, and as with The Dark Knight Rises the pacing is all wrong. The second half feels rushed with major plot points covered in single scenes whereas large parts of the first half are drawn out and tedious. Secondly, the reason that Inception, Memento and even The Prestige were so good is that they kept you guessing. Inception in particular was rendered magical by its ambiguity, and debate still rages around the enigmatic conclusion. Nothing is left to the imagination with Interstellar however as Nolan explains what is happening every step of the way. A very good film for sure, but a masterpiece? Definitely not.