With 'Ad Astra', the take on the exploration of space makes a hard turn to the self-discovery drama, and pays less attention to the "fiction" part of its exuberant science display. Brad Pitt delivers a fine performance in a film that does enough to impress on the audience the inner struggles of its protagonists, but on a far more underwhelming level as its technical achievements.
Pitt portrays Roy McBride, a Major in the military's space division in "the near future." Pitt is summoned by his superiors and is informed that the catastrophic events of "the Surge" are believed to be linked to a an expedition called The Lima Project, which was headed by Roy's father, Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones). With evidence to believe Clifford may still be alive, the protagonist is assigned by the space military the mission of making contact with his father. What ensues is a self-reflective exploration of the protagonist's soul, and not so much of space itself.
The protagonist's principal conflict lies on his learning Clifford might be alive years after the "Lima Project" lost contact with humanity. Roy's depressive state of mind is the strongest part of Pitt's performance - his commitment to the mission of finding his father is founded on his sense of distance towards him. At one point, Helen Lantos (Ruth Negga) reveals to Roy information about his father that complicates both the moral and physical journey of the protagonist, and Pitt brilliantly manages to convey the heavy toll his family history takes on his psyche.
James Gray directorial vision is at a masterful level, even if his narrative isn't necessarily up to par. Gray somehow manages to keep us in awe of the technological reality of this future in an unexpected subdued and subtle manner. The mundanity of characters entering a rocket ship to the Moon and being tended to by flight attendants floating around the cabin is mesmerizing. As extraordinary as the military bases and overall structures in space and both in the Moon and in Mars seems to us, the audience, Gray also conveys humanity's integration of this new world into its quotidian life.
Gray's finds ways around the fabric of space to provide us with truly awe-inspiring images, but none that seemed unmatched or that stand out from other, just as memorable past efforts.
The biggest fault in 'Ad Astra' is perhaps a sense of narrative closure that seems small compared to the vastness of its visual spectacle. Sure, the story is ultimately a coherent one; but its sense of finality seems dissonant with its thematic. It seems as if Gray gave in to the question of what looking to the stars can tell us about our search for a purpose.
As implausible as the scientific endeavors of 'Ad Astra' might seem to us at this time, the movie is more keen to emphasize on our own struggle to find meaning for our existence. Looking to the stars for answers is certainly materially impossible as far as we are concerned today, and definitely within the technological grasp of Gray's "near future". But no matter which world, Gray seems to suggest, our human condition will bind our quest for meaning even beyond the stars. Although Roy McBride's story isn't a particular profound meditation on this matter, it is ultimately arresting enough on an aesthetic level to make us, the audience keep looking to the stars in 'Ad Astra' for answers.
7/10
Pitt portrays Roy McBride, a Major in the military's space division in "the near future." Pitt is summoned by his superiors and is informed that the catastrophic events of "the Surge" are believed to be linked to a an expedition called The Lima Project, which was headed by Roy's father, Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones). With evidence to believe Clifford may still be alive, the protagonist is assigned by the space military the mission of making contact with his father. What ensues is a self-reflective exploration of the protagonist's soul, and not so much of space itself.
The protagonist's principal conflict lies on his learning Clifford might be alive years after the "Lima Project" lost contact with humanity. Roy's depressive state of mind is the strongest part of Pitt's performance - his commitment to the mission of finding his father is founded on his sense of distance towards him. At one point, Helen Lantos (Ruth Negga) reveals to Roy information about his father that complicates both the moral and physical journey of the protagonist, and Pitt brilliantly manages to convey the heavy toll his family history takes on his psyche.
James Gray directorial vision is at a masterful level, even if his narrative isn't necessarily up to par. Gray somehow manages to keep us in awe of the technological reality of this future in an unexpected subdued and subtle manner. The mundanity of characters entering a rocket ship to the Moon and being tended to by flight attendants floating around the cabin is mesmerizing. As extraordinary as the military bases and overall structures in space and both in the Moon and in Mars seems to us, the audience, Gray also conveys humanity's integration of this new world into its quotidian life.
Gray's finds ways around the fabric of space to provide us with truly awe-inspiring images, but none that seemed unmatched or that stand out from other, just as memorable past efforts.
The biggest fault in 'Ad Astra' is perhaps a sense of narrative closure that seems small compared to the vastness of its visual spectacle. Sure, the story is ultimately a coherent one; but its sense of finality seems dissonant with its thematic. It seems as if Gray gave in to the question of what looking to the stars can tell us about our search for a purpose.
As implausible as the scientific endeavors of 'Ad Astra' might seem to us at this time, the movie is more keen to emphasize on our own struggle to find meaning for our existence. Looking to the stars for answers is certainly materially impossible as far as we are concerned today, and definitely within the technological grasp of Gray's "near future". But no matter which world, Gray seems to suggest, our human condition will bind our quest for meaning even beyond the stars. Although Roy McBride's story isn't a particular profound meditation on this matter, it is ultimately arresting enough on an aesthetic level to make us, the audience keep looking to the stars in 'Ad Astra' for answers.
7/10
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