Part Of Me Thinks My Love For "Interstellar" May Deepen Over Time..

Rating: 7/10 (10 November 2014)

Hopefully when you're reading this, you'll have seen the movie and tried to take in all of Interstellar's extremely ambitious U-turns and stunning visuals. By the time the credits role, there was lot left to be desired. But how jaw dropping a final act it was, that I'm glad Christopher Nolan decided to try and reach for the stars, then not try at all. Immediately I thought back to the first trailer in December 2013, where the use of stock footage, Hans Zimmer, Matthew McConaughey's voice and the tag-line "One Year From Now" was all I needed to peak my interest. Of course our interests were fuelled all the more, when they started to show planets and locations in further trailers closer to the films release. Personally I wish they held back a little in marketing, just because that would have had so much more of an impact whilst viewing the movie.
In the "near" future, Earth is no longer sustainable to humanity. Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a former NASA test pilot turned framer, reluctantly joins a team of space travellers, who plan to travel through a newly discovered wormhole in search of a new habitable planet. His plans to go on this quest pretty much destroys his relationship with his children, for which making amends is the only driving force for Cooper to return home. As he and the crew bravely venture above and beyond what they could've imagined.
In terms of visuals, the movie is 10/10 gorgeous. It can easily be Christopher Nolan's best looking movie, and the fact that all of it is practical sets and locations like Iceland etc. Cannot help but leave a deep impression. Again, the ambitious nature of this production overall will inevitably lead to some stellar cinematography, but every time we were aboard the main ship (The "Endurance") I just wanted to reach out and touch a dashboard or study the cryogenic beds. Special effects are scarce, yet the ones created are actual visual representations from algorithms by Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, who was also the executive producer. There's a plethora of connections to be made instantly with "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), but frankly I just wanted to mention the homages to the "Monolith", in the form of the two on-board robots who shined in their "resourcefulness".
But onto the narrative, which is where "Interstellar" seems to dip and dive. Ultimately the journey became wonderfully whole, and a certain story arc that infuriated me in the beginning lessened it's grip overall. Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan love to introduce a recurring theme of "meta-fictive" narration in their films, and all of this is present in a stellar filmography that has definitely found an audience. "Interstellar" has this feat, yet the primary focus of the piece seems to be "Love". The love Cooper has to want to get back to his kids is identifiable, if not cliché and shamelessly forced in some emotional moments. But there's a scene when Anne Hathaway's character is explaining the scientists concept that love transcends time and space, it really took me out of the moment as I waited for the following scene to appear. In short, love is magic and hasn't that been done to death?
Hans Zimmer teams up with Christopher Nolan again to compose the music. Though the use of a certain song is used repetitiously throughout, it's another fantastic score we've come to expect from Zimmer and I'm still waiting to hear the remainder of the soundtrack. There are moments where the dialogue and music are at the same pitch, which becomes harder to hear and it usually happens when something extremely loud is happening in the scene. It can become infuriating when trying to hear what they say, even more so when the movie can become quiet in an instant and replicate dialogue straight from actual astronaut footage to brilliant effect. There are music cues that easily spoil the build up when someone does something out of character (What movie isn't guilty of that?), but a lot of the movie shows the musical restraint that Nolan executes particularly well.
And lastly, I want to say that every actor was superb. For all you have heard me attack certain moments of the script, and how some of the characters and scenarios have been delivered. I can confidently say there is not one weak link in this entire star-studded cast. Matthew McConaughey is just getting better and better with each role, and he really is the heart and driving force of the movie. John Lithgow, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, A surprise cameo from a certain A-list talent and Michael Caine all wonderfully bounce off each other and make it "effortless". Lastly the child acting was very strong, and Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck blend into their characters seamlessly.
Final Verdict: Visually stunning, though I consider "Interstellar" to have some minor flaws. It's concept, ideology and results are nothing more than what I would expect from a Christopher Nolan film, and I'm so happy he went above and beyond regardless of those few minor flaws. It's one of my favourite movies of the year and as always, I thoroughly look forward to Nolan's future outcomes. 8.5/10.