A Trip Into the Unknown.

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2015)

Watching Christopher Nolan's Interstellar requires you to take into account the scientific theories surrounding space travel, whilst also suspending your disbelief and enjoying the show. There are a lot of scenes which detail scientific and philosophical concepts, and you'll see an analysis of these all over the internet arguing that there are scientific discrepancies throughout the film, all of which do not matter anyway. There are also a host of other meanings within Interstellar such as love, life and mistakes.
The premise is pretty straightforward; Earth is dying and resources are low, so former astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), along with three scientists, take humanity's last hope, in the form of a ship, into the unknown in search of a new home for the human race.
The plot centres on self-sacrifice, through characters who willingly go into the unknown so that humanity might live on. And despite the sacrifice of these brave handful of people, the plot also builds around the hope that they, or mainly Cooper, will return to Earth. He becomes a vehicle holding the solution to saving the human race, by giving knowledge to his daughter through Morse code, whilst inside a black hole inside the fourth dimension, of how humans can escape Earth to preserve the human race. It is Coopers' selfless act of love that allows this to happen, and, following an encounter with Dr. Mann (Matt Damon), we are led to believe that the last thing someone will see before their death is their children, and this desire will push this person's survival instincts as they fight to see their children once more.
Interstellar is more science fiction than actual science theory; but the main thing you need to consider is relativity. Einstein's theory is the driving force behind the actions the characters take. The time they spend in the black hole differs massively to the time on Earth. For one hour spent on the watery planet, thirty years pass on Earth. It is mind boggling and tragic. More tragic still is that the visit to this planet was a complete waste of time, and on returning to the ship, Cooper watches video messages sent to him by his son who grows older with each one, ending with a message from his daughter who is now the same age as her father. It is then that we realise the enemy is in fact time. Time is what Earth doesn't have, and for every second spent discussing the next move, Earth ages quickly.
The underlying message is that death will be cheated by man, by "Not going gently into that good night", the Dylan Thomas poem spoken by Michael Caine's Dr. Brand twice in the film. The project is named the 'Lazarus Project'. This immediately lets us know that there is a theme of resurrection from death, so at the back of our mind we know that Cooper will be the main player in this recurrent cycle.
To help push the story, a talented cast has been enlisted. Whilst the rest of the cast put in brilliant performances; Anne Hathaway as Amelia Brand, Jessica Chastain as Murph, Michael Caine as Dr. Brand, and Matt Damon also plays a convincingly fearful Dr. Mann, it is Matthew McConaughey as the lead who is nothing short of dazzling. His ability to play the last bastion of hope for humanity, whilst never wanting to let go of his family is very real, and he delivers it with great charisma and passion, another performance that has indeed added to his recent string of incredible acting.
The sound in Interstellar is awesome. Not only do we have the realism of lack of sound in space, where scenes of the ship's thrusters being initiated is accompanied by complete silence, but we also have a beautiful score by Hans Zimmer. The score, very reminiscent of Phillip Glass's soundtrack for Koyaanisqatsi, is mesmerising, hypnotic, and dreamily optimistic.
As we have come to expect of Nolan, Interstellar is incredibly thought provoking and aesthetically beautiful. But while marvellous in its ideas and style, there isn't a lot of room for storytelling. This doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad thing; it seems that there is a message about our real life need to find a new home for the human race, one that, in the last few years has become more prevalent, with a goal of sending send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s. A message that seems to declare that if we stop exploring, the human race will go extinct.
Interstellar is a powerfully thought provoking film that is sometimes confusing and ludicrous, but it's an engaging and wonderful experience that allows for one to draw their own conclusions from and asks a question about humanity's survival.