Often impressive and very beautiful, but less than stellar

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2017)

As someone who likes the cast, loved the concept and who considers Christopher Nolan very talented and has enjoyed a good deal of his films, 'Interstellar' was somewhat of a let-down. It has a lot of great elements, but also has its flaws and one admires Nolan more for his ambition than his execution.
Starting with the praises, 'Interstellar' does look spectacular. It's majestically shot, seamlessly edited and boasts audacious set design and fantastic special effects. The music score from Hans Zimmer is perhaps his best effort for a Nolan film, it has subtlety but also an unnerving eeriness and haunting and heart-wrenching pathos. The sound effects and sound mixing are expertly managed and give a real sense of authenticity.
'Interstellar' however has more than just being technically spectacular. It is thought-provoking and awe-inspiring frequently, with some fascinating ideas, and does have a lot of heart, making the emotional elements genuinely poignant. The Cooper/Murph relationship, which is really what takes centre stage, is beautifully done and often very heartfelt. Nolan directs with great ambition, strong direction of the actors and flawless technical command.
Matthew McConaughey proves that his Best Actor Oscar for 'Dallas Buyers Club' wasn't a fluke, he holds everything together in a committed, charismatic and deeply felt turn. MacKenzie Foy matches him beautifully as does Jessica Chastain. Anne Hathaway is sassy and emotive, and there is fine support from John Lithgow and Michael Caine.
However, 'Interstellar' is overlong and, because of the wildly variable pacing and that the story doesn't quite have enough content to justify it, it feels it. The pacing is wildly variable as aforementioned, there are times where it's fine but there's some choppiness and stodginess too.
Dialogue isn't a strong suit either, there are many times where it's thought-provoking and poignant, but too much of it also consists of confused and at times illogical science (the time and space stuff was convoluted sometimes), forced sentiment and things being over-explained and preachy. Matt Damon's character felt thrown in and not particularly necessary, also somewhat silly, while the ending is far too idealistic and too falsely pat.
Overall, less than stellar and was expecting much better. This said, 'Interstellar' is often impressive and very beautiful (especially technically, though the central relationship was also beautifully realised). 6/10 Bethany Cox