More admired than enjoyed

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2015)

There is much to admire about Interstellar. It is a film with a thoroughly compelling, thought-provoking story. The visuals are spectacular, the effects are brilliantly done. The performances are all quite good. There are moments of great drama, moments of almost unbearable tension. And there are moments which are genuinely awe-inspiring. This is a film which can fill you with wonder. So why, after seeing the film, do I feel a little bit let down? I am left with the nagging sense that for all the film has going for it Interstellar just is not entertaining enough. And films are first and foremost meant to entertain. This is a noble effort from director Christopher Nolan. He crafted a film which is in many ways quite special. But while you admire what Nolan accomplished is this a film you want to come back to? Do you want to see it again and again? Probably not. It lacks that little spark of entertainment that any film needs to be truly spectacular, to make you want to come back for more.
Interstellar unfolds in a future where failing crops have led to starvation. There is not enough food to go around. Earth is failing. Widowed former astronaut Cooper, inquisitive young daughter Murph in tow, stumbles upon a top-secret NASA installation which is conveniently located near his home. There he meets Professor Brand, an old mentor of his who is working to save humanity. Not working to save Earth, working to get humankind off Earth. Lots of talk of wormholes and faraway galaxies where man can start again. Brand needs someone to pilot a spaceship to go check out some of these faraway worlds. No prizes for guessing who is soon strapped in for a rocket ride to outer space.
So Cooper takes off on this mission, which comes with the complication that these faraway worlds are really, really far away. Murph is less than pleased that her father is leaving. He promises he'll be back. Of course he does. But of course complications ensue. This mission is a race against time and it is a race Cooper and his crew are losing badly. The fate of humankind hangs in the balance. Heavy stuff. But Cooper just wants to get home to his young daughter. Unfortunately there's the problem of time dilation. There are instances where time on Earth is moving much faster than it does on Cooper's ship and Murph is all grown up and Earth has completely gone to hell and yes this is all a bit confusing. The science in the film is very well worked out but the focus needs to be more on the human drama than the science. There certainly will be plenty of human drama as the story twists and turns through its final act.
This gripping story is performed very well. Matthew McConaughey fits the role of Cooper perfectly. A man determined to save mankind but pained by guilt over what he has left behind. McConaughey portrays the inner turmoil in excellent fashion. Michael Caine provides appropriate gravitas as Professor Brand. Anne Hathaway comes off a little cold in playing Brand's daughter, a biotechnologist who travels with Cooper on the epic journey. But that coldness is really part of the character, no fault of Hathaway. And maybe it's not coldness? Maybe it's a steely determination to see the mission through? Anyway, Hathaway and McConaughey play off one another well. Jessica Chastain doesn't show up until well into the film but when she arrives she makes a great impact. The rest of the cast does solid, and in some cases, quite surprising work. So if this fascinating story is performed so wonderfully why does the film not work quite as well as it should?
The film's story certainly draws you in but there is that sense that the story could have been told in more entertaining fashion. There are times where the story drags. There is an abundance of clunky dialogue. While the science of the film is well thought out there are times the film seems to get lost in the science. Especially near the end there are moments that are just a little too confusing. So wrapped up in the science of what was possible Nolan seems to have lost a bit of his grip on the human story at the heart of the film. Where the film should be rushing to a brilliant climax it gets bogged down in details. Momentum fades away. Interstellar leaves you with a great appreciation for what Nolan attempted. This is bold, brave filmmaking. Unfortunately as entertainment it falls just a touch short. There is so much to admire about the film. It is certainly well worth seeing once. But, even with all the questions it raises, it is not a film you may be eager to revisit.