Kubrick sticks a paintbrush in the psychic glue . . .

Rating: 9/10 (29 March 1999)

2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick's interpretation of the Arthur C. Clarke novel of the same name, is one of the most exact adaptations of any work of literature, in the history of cinema. Reading the novel, one has the sense that Kubrick worked in near complete juxtaposition with the mind of Clarke, to achieve the lyricism and profundity of the film. Kubrick sticks a paintbrush in the psychic glue binding together Clarke's lines and becomes the omnipotent caretaker in full, rendering beautiful images within cracked psychological milieu, as he channels his energy in graceful, sometimes violent arcs. In fact, the entire production could be viewed as taking place inside a great cosmic mind, the astronauts and spaceships and planets coalescing to form one cogent idea; HAL, the computer turned psychotic killer, with his red, glowing eye unflinching, appears like the opening of a severed nerve. Kubrick's version of Space Odyssey is a self-contained vision, an elaborate concept, in a caravan of others.
Though staying true to the novel's storyline, Kubrick subtly red-shifts his adaptation to emphasize its more ethereal themes. A majority of the film acts as a subtext to the delirium of the finale, wherein he slowly weans the viewer off concepts of normalcy, diminishing his sense of time and spatial orientation. Though a first-time viewer might see this as artistic hogwash, it is an expertly placed, visual tailspin designed to displace the viewer in preparation for what is to come. It is important to express the film's underlying theme, here, as it pertains to Kubrick's craftsmanship.
Simply, 2001: A Space Odyssey is about man and his various vessels and the wombs that support him throughout his existence. Many of the spaceships and futuristic renderings resemble faces and bodies; the crew's vessel bound for Jupiter even appears to have a spine. It seems that Kubrick is attempting to say that man is in a constant state of transition, and his various forms get him there. Meanwhile, his universe, whether it be a womb, or the container of the cosmos, slowly prepares him for his next great transformation he will undergo. His gestation is the length of his life. And as we see in the final moments, the main character Dave passes through a vortex into a world that is exempt from time, where his physical environment--a small, furnished house with food--remains nothing more than a loose interpretation of his previous life. There, he lives out his days--a matter of minutes for the viewer--as his preconceptions of reality are removed. No time and no logical sequencing of events, except that of aging. In this way, he is prepared for the greatest leap imaginable: a rebirth into the cosmic womb. His alien caretakers, who are never once glimpsed, deliver him accordingly.
Kubrick deftly delivers the viewer into the movie's finale, concurrently disorienting him along with Dave. Throughout the course of the film, Kubrick is in no hurry to get things done. He allows it full lease on his faculties, and as a result of his patience, Space Odyssey captivates, intrigues and redefines. Aided by adequate performances by the cast, it is by and far one of the most important movies of our time. In truth, it is about every man's journey. It unnerves as well as uplifts. It is life and death as seen from the eyes of the hopeful, healthy, optimistic soul.