The ultimate escapism

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2005)

This is an excellent film. I read the book after watching it and would recommend one do the reverse. The book, comparably, had a lot of filler and the movie pared the tale down beautifully. Still, the book was powerful in that very detail.
Jodie Foster, while unlike the book's character, is wonderful. And thank the stars her love interest is Matthew McConaughey and not the circus-tattooed-lightening-struck fellow Sagan envisioned. All is forgiven for that fact alone. I personally would second guess a trip to the cosmos to spend my remaining years with Matt.
The power of Sagan's idea- the consideration of life Elsewhere imposed on accepted Earth Science- is carried out in this movie. The details of plot don't matter, really. Sagan's point is well taken and faithfully conveyed.