Slingshot (2024 film). Slingshot is a 2024 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Mikael Håfström and written by R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker. It stars Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Emily Beecham, Tomer Kapon, and David Morrissey.

The film was released on August 30, 2024, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot 

Astronaut John awakens from a hibernation cycle on the spacecraft Odyssey 1, en route to Saturn's moon, Titan. The ship's mission is to travel to Titan, collect a large amount of natural resources, such as methane, for use back on Earth, and then return. Due to the multi-year journey, the crew must endure multiple awake/asleep cycles as they travel through space. The crew awakens about every 90 days to perform routine checks and maintenance, communicate with Earth, and ensure they remain on course before being returned to a drug-induced hibernation sleep.

John catches up with the other crew members: Captain Franks, who heads the mission, and Nash, an aeronautics expert. John is disturbed that the hibernation disoriented him to the point of forgetting his girlfriend Zoe's last name and her voice, but Nash comforts him by informing him that the potent drugs used to induce hibernation affect everyone and have significant side effects, and John will remember eventually. The crew check the ship's systems and report back to Earth that they are still on target for the most challenging portion of their journey: a "slingshot" maneuver around Jupiter that will launch them towards Titan. John is relieved to remember Zoe's last name when he recalls how they met, and the crew return to sleep.

Upon the next awake cycle, John wakes up first and is hit in the head by a falling ceiling panel. Captain Franks and Nash find him after he is knocked unconscious, and discover that the ship appears to have endured some sort of impact, which damaged the hull and a few internal components. The ship's computers do not report any record of an impact, nor any damage. Captain Franks posits that perhaps the ship has warped due to structural strain.

Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and concerned that the ship's computer system and the ship's structural integrity have been compromised. Nash believes the ship cannot withstand the pressure of engaging thrusters during the slingshot maneuver, and that the crew will die if they attempt to continue on to Titan. Nash attempts to convince John to mutiny against Captain Franks by setting their hibernation pods to awaken 12 hours early so they can reprogram the ship to instead slingshot back towards Earth and return home. John agrees to do so, but warns he will only help the mutiny if there is sufficient evidence that the ship is compromised.

John and Nash awaken from hibernation early. Nash has a meltdown, believing that they cannot trust the ship's systems and will all die. John says there is insufficient evidence of damage and believes they should continue with their mission. Captain Franks appears: he has been spying on the crew members and knew about their plan to awaken early, and likewise woke up early to stop them.

Captain Franks and John successfully complete the slingshot maneuver against Nash's wishes, as Nash further descends into paranoia, convinced they will all die if they do not return to Earth. John's own condition has started to deteriorate, as he has begun to hallucinate seeing Zoe on the ship and having waking dreams that the ship sustained damage which caused him to be sucked out into the void of space. The crew returns to hibernation.

Upon next awakening, Nash has clearly deteriorated. He is unable to recall his parents' names or details from his life. He has discovered an issue with the reactors' output which, if left unresolved, indicates they will never make it to Titan, and requests that John confirm his data. John points out Nash's spiraling mental state, although John's own cognition continues to degrade.

Captain Franks confirms the reactor performance, then reveals that the issue is man-made and pulls out a gun. John's passcode was used to reduce the reactor output. Captain Franks believes Nash used John's code to sabotage the ship, and declares that he will not allow anyone to disrupt their mission. Captain Franks decides that Nash will be forced back into sleep to avoid further sabotage, and escorts the two men to their hibernation pods at gunpoint.

John is put to sleep first. As the drugs take over, he witnesses Captain Franks brutally attack Nash, likely killing him.

Nash is not present during the next awake cycle. Captain Franks carries the pistol around everywhere he goes, aggressive that their mission will not be compromised. John has started having significant auditory and visual hallucinations that Zoe is trying to communicate via the short-distance radios and that his body is mutating. They are still en route, but have been unable to reach Earth or make contact since their initial awake cycle. Captain Franks accuses John of losing his sanity and focus, and reveals that Zoe was a fake sent as a psychological test to determine John's suitability for the mission, which John refuses to believe. John is suspicious that Captain Franks murdered Nash rather than putting Nash in forced sleep, and demands to see Nash before returning to sleep.

The pair have a violent interaction and John succeeds in subduing Captain Franks by force, then uses the computer to enquire about Nash's location and status. The computer confirms that Nash is healthy and on the bridge with the other two men. The computer reveals that this is a one-man mission: John has been alone the entire time. John's full name is Captain John Franks Nash. He has been hallucinating the other crew members from the first hibernation cycle.

Spiraling badly and unsure of reality, John begs Zoe for help over the short-distance radios. He receives a response from Zoe. She tells John that he is not actually in space. He has been deceived and is in a fake ship underneath the company's New Mexico base to trial the hibernation cycles and isolation impact before the real mission. An earthquake damaged the access tunnel and communication lines to the simulation ship, which has led to the hibernation chamber giving him too-high doses without the surface's ability to adjust the drugs, causing his mental degradation.

Zoe encourages him to leave via the airlock, to escape the simulated ship and force their employers to pick him up early. A bloody Captain Franks tells John to remain dedicated to the mission and points out that he has been hallucinating and this might be a continuation of that: John has created a slightly-too-plausible story that provides a pat explanation for everything that John wants to hear.

John chooses to exit through the airlock. Initially, it appears that he was correct about exiting into an underground location, not in space. As he moves towards a red emergency light to ascend a ladder, John has a moment of clarity when he realizes he was hallucinating, before he is blown out of the airlock and into the void of space.

Cast 
 Casey Affleck as John
 Laurence Fishburne as Captain Franks
 Emily Beecham as Zoe
 Tomer Capone as Nash
 David Morrissey as Napier
 Mark Ebulué as Gordon

Production 
On November 23, 2021, it was announced that Mikael Håfström would direct from a screenplay by R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker. The film was produced by Bluestone Entertainment. Barry Chusid was the production designer and Pär M Ekberg was the cinematographer. Alongside the film announcement, Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Emily Beecham, Tomer Capone, David Morrissey, and Mark Ebulué were cast. Chelsea Ellis Bloch and Marisol Roncali were the casting directors. Filming began on December 1, 2021, at Korda Studios and other locations in Budapest, Hungary. The score was composed by Steffen Thum and produced by Lorne Balfe.

Release
In February 2024, Bleecker Street acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.

The film was released on August 30, 2024, in the United States, opening on the four-day Labor Day weekend.

Reception

Box office
In the United States and Canada, Slingshot was released alongside Afraid, 1992, Reagan, and City of Dreams, and was projected to gross $2.5 million at most from 845 theaters in its opening weekend. The film debuted below expectations, grossing $589,146 over the four-day Labor Day weekend.

Critical response

References

External links 

2024 science fiction films
American science fiction thriller films
American psychological thriller films
Films about astronauts
Films directed by Mikael Håfström
Films scored by Lorne Balfe
Films set on spacecraft
Films shot in Budapest
Bleecker Street films