Do not go gentle into that good night

Rating: 6/10 (5 June 2015)

When it comes to endings and general philosophy of storytelling, you can distinguish between two kinds of fiction.
The first is soothing, consolatory: characters may face dangers but at the end order is restored. The second is more problematic and offers no easy resolution; by the time the story is over, events have taken a major toll on those involved - maybe they have lost what they wanted, or their achievement is implied to be short-lived. Maybe they wonder if it was even worth it at all.
The first kind of fiction is Spielberg, the other Kubrick; the first is Nolan of Memento, the other Nolan of Interstellar.
Now, both kinds have their place and there is nothing wrong with more lighthearted fare; in fact, most of the time I'd rather watch a crackling popcorn flick like Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Wars than a fine but bleak film like, say, The Deer Hunter. The trouble is when you try to mix these two kinds: the result will have major tonal problems.
See Interstellar: in a story about entropy and loss, the kind of conclusion this film dishes out just feels wrong after the somber 150 minutes preceding it. It's fluffy and tone-deaf.
Pity, because I was enjoying the movie. Acting is effective, with a solid McConaughey and an unusual supporting role for Damon; special mention to young Mackenzie Foy, who is fine as the protagonist's daughter.
At its best, Interstellar provides moment of awe (the oceanic planet), compelling dilemmas, tension and pathos (the scene with Cooper leaving in bad terms with his daughter is moving); exposition is clunky-but-interesting in an Inception kind of way. But the movie lost me with its last act.
When Hathaway's character (an astronaut) states, unironically, that in our universe love is a force stronger than time and space and then she turns out to be right... well, I'm both religious and a big softie so I should be on board with that... it is, however, both too bluntly expressed and turns into an ending which feels similar to the maudlin Nolan provided in The Dark Knight Rises, only it's even more inappropriate here.
6,5/10