Interstellar is Nolan's closest to heart film yet

Rating: 9/10 (13 November 2014)

There's really just 2 main ways to make a space film. One, you do it like an action film with colorful characters, epic battles and an evil force that must be conquered, like the recent Guardians of the Galaxy. Two, you create a fantastical universe with elements of reality weaved in to suggest its possibility, and to top it up, throw in plot points that make the audience think about the very reality there're living in. Nolan's attempt at the latter is a tremendous effort that manages to combine visual marvels, philosophical questions, and the epitome of human emotion into one spectacular masterpiece.
Nolan's films all have a central theme to it. Batman Begins was fear, The Dark Knight was chaos and so on. Strip away all the special effects and this movie's theme shows itself immediately: Hope. Admittedly, Interstellar also focuses on love as a theme, with that between Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his daughter as an example. However, the concept of hope is featured more prevalent and in many varying forms.
Cooper is the prime example of positive hope. Without it, he never would have
1) landed on the water planet despite the dangers of the black hole 2) continued fighting after Dr Mann break his helmet 3) Ejected himself in the black hole and let Amelia (Anne Hathaway) make her way to Edmunds' planet.
Cooper could have given up at any point and it wouldn't be his fault. Every step of his journey was only made possible with the hope Cooper desperately clung on to see his family again, or at the very least, ensure their survival.
Professor Brand (Michael Caine) show somewhat the opposite, by using hope as a weapon to convince those working with him to a fool's errand. It was with hope that he managed to convince Cooper it was possible for Plan A to work, which resulted in him agreeing to go for the mission. Similarly, he managed to convince the NASA scientists and engineers to work on a fool's errand for decades by instilling the false notion that their work will be successful. Even Copper at one point falls into this dark pit, with his misguided promise to Murphy of his return before he left as a way to a reach a amiable parting.
Dr Mann's (Matt Damon) arc, often criticized as unnecessary, was an interesting one, as the opposing sides of hope drives his actions at every point. It was hope for mankind's survival that drove him on the Icarus mission. It is the converse that lead him to fake the data about the ice planet. It was the hope for survival that drove Dr Mann away from suicide and into the cyropresevation chamber, the very same one that lead to his attempt to hijack the Endurance and his eventual death.
Of course, the film isn't perfect. Matthew McConaughey seems to be doing a one man show as the female leads, Amelia and Murphy, were given so little to do. Anne Hathaway, especially, is tremendously underused and despite her best efforts, ended up portraying a forgettable and rushed character. The runtime could also have been shortened to make the film more impactful, with a rather slow start and illogical (and very convenient) plot points. It is an absolute miracle that Murphy's room hasn't been touched in years, especially if the house is partly occupied by some curious, presumably naughty children. How do you possibly convert all the scientific data from the singularity into Morse code anyway?
Still, with Hans Zimmer's very personal score that complements the emotion on screen, Interstellar proves to be a very human film. Nolan's attempt to create a sci-fi masterpiece manages to distinguish itself from its obvious inspiration, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Its stunningly vivid depictions of space and its entities is simply beautiful. Matthew McConaughey excels as the main lead, bringing a quiet sophistication to Cooper's confliction. With an ending that threatens to blow your mind, it hits all the right notes that matters.
Sure, the events occurring in the Tesseract would keep me pondering in the coming days, but the sight of Cooper crying while watching 23 years of missed video from his family will stick with me forever.