Effective Space Travel and Love Story

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2017)

Morten Tyldum is one of the best up and coming director in my opinion and I thoroughly enjoyed his fine Norwegian crime thriller Headhunters (2011) and even more so his multi-Oscar nominated, including for best directing, The Imitation Game (2014) which may have been the best movie of that year. I was looking forward to this science-fiction project, a genre I like when it delivers on its promises, and the trailer even though it looked commercial, seemed promising. Unfortunately, it seems the critics picked the movie apart and I hesitated and doubted before seeing it, but decided that Tyldum was worth a try even with the naysayers.
Firstly, Jon Spaihts'script is actually very good and shines on occasion with philosophical/psychological dilemmas and themes without losing the human factor and contact. We empathize with the characters and are afraid, lost, torn, and even in love (yes) with them. The technology, the setting, the context and the beautiful set (real and digital), including a stunning star swimming pool and luxury rooms on this passenger spaceship. One of the character is a writer and the words take on poetic and philosophical turns to trump and triviality or banality of more predictable or run-of-the-mill sci-fi films. Of course there is some plot turns that are a bit far- fetched but all in all it is well within its dangerous and wondrous world it delves into.
Secondly, the directing makes the two leads make nuanced performance and illicit the right emotions from viewers while also keeping the oddness, awe, tension and adventurous factor.
Lastly, this film is a timeless love story with secrets, sacrifices, choices and serendipity in an attempt to understand and live a potential eventual human migration to the stars and planets with its joys and perils.
What do we do with the place and time you leave behind and what do you have to look forward to? To paraphrase the terrific and thoughtful screenplay, we are all just passengers in life... even if we want to be the captain of our lives. What is the meaning of time, life, love, loneliness? This raises great questions and leave you wanting more at the end.
This is a great addition to Tylum's body of work and to science- fiction in general. Kudos and hope this will get more recognition in the future... hopefully not in 120 years like this fictional space travel...