[Film] Interstellar

By Frankey

First released in Australia on 7 November 2014.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.

I’ve been having a lot of trouble narrowing down how I really feel about Interstellar. Don’t get me wrong, it’s visually and aurally stunning, if not downright compelling. It exists as a rare breed of film that both accurately and nobly depicts Einstein’s Relativity of Time and explores the limits of our current understanding of physics. Nolan is certainly masterful at his craft, there’s no doubt about it. On some level, Interstellar is even arguably an allegory on mankind’s lost dream to discover the universe. It heralds back to humanity’s genesis as explorers of the Earth, and gives us a glimpse of what we as a species might look like if we forget to dream.

Performances are strong and powerful throughout the cast, but most specifically from McConaughey, with no short supply of tear-jerking father-daughter interactions. Sure, it’s pigeonholed into the science-fiction genre, but don’t let that fool you, because this film is more human than much of what comes out of Hollywood today.

That said, in spite of all it does well, Interstellar is by no means Nolan’s best work. I’m not even sure it ranks in the top five. Again, that’s no easy feat when you’ve got the likes of The Dark Knight, Inception, The Prestige, and Memento to compete with, just to name a few. What Interstellar does do is cement Nolan as one of the most consistent directors alive.

I would recommend Interstellar, just like I would recommend that you complete essential pieces of literature like Les Misérables or To Kill a Mockingbird because these are the questions and answers of life. Pretty much all of Nolan’s filmography is essential viewing, and Interstellar is a worthy addition to the shelf that proves that there is currently no director out there who you can rely on so faithfully to admirably challenge your preconceptions.

Cover art sourced from http://www.hdwallpapers.in/