★★★★★
Astronaut Roy McBride undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
Classification: 12A
What lies beyond the stars?
Questions of our place in the universe are at the centre of James Gray's beautiful space odyssey that transports the audience through a journey of astounding visuals and gorgeous storytelling. Even though Brad Pitt's character of Roy McBride is assigned to a mission to save the world, the epic stakes fade as McBride ventures further into the harsh wilderness of the unknown, the film always focused on emotion rather than action. A deeply introspective performance, Pitt speaks volumes through subtle inflexion and expression as narration and nuance tell a larger story about a man confronting the relationship to his father and how that relationship has shaped his very existence. Ad Astra highlights the beauty and terror of space, Hoyte van Hoytema exceeds his incredible work of Interstellar through the mesmerising vistas seen during McBride's adventure. This is one of those films that will make you understand why still shooting on film stock is still needed as the richness of every image of the film can take your breath away, from the vast emptiness of black space to beautiful blues and reds that soak the screen. James Gray's direction is rock-solid as he handles the complex themes and ideas into the visuals giving the audience an experience that goes beyond dialogue or exposition. Ad Astra is a film that will leave you floored by the power of cinema and the passion from every contributor is clear from every frame.
The story and style of Ad Astra harken back to the influential works of Blade Runner and Apocalypse Now while it would be easy for one to say that this film is merely a combination of the two, Gray is sure that his direction and script go to extra mile to make itself unique. There is a sense of scale and isolation to the film's story and cinematography that can't be explained away by modern cinematic techniques, Gray strips away the humanity of the universe with every step forward of McBride's journey. Even the initial beginnings on the Moon, which has become a commercialised spaceport complete with futuristic AppleBee's and Subway signs adorned on the exterior don't create a sense of familiarity but further the alienation. McBride and the audience see a world they think they understand, like Blade Runner the familiar has become unfamiliar and what we hoped would be a prosperous future continues to just be a continuation of what has come before. It's not a hopeless universe but it is a harsh one as every setpiece creates another scenario for McBride to confront what his life has supposedly been building towards. Ad Astra handles very difficult and heady questions about existence but keeps them grounded through a spectrum examining the relationship between McBride and his father.
Clifford McBride portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones through exposition and brief clips until the third act finally reveals the Kurtzian figure serves as the motivation for almost every story and character moment within Ad Astra. The film while traversing through our solar system wants to explore humanity's place in the universe through the story of an estranged father and son, Gray handles this material beautifully. At times it can feel McBride is on a quest to confront a God, as Clifford not only was a titan of his own life but was revered worldwide as a man of science, courage and fortitude. McBride is confronted constantly by people's expectations of him as they worked directly with Clifford or were inspired to become astronauts or scientists like Clifford. His father has transcended a realistic form in McBride's eyes, he just lives in the shadow of the man he hardly remembers. Ad Astra and James Gray don't want to this to be a story about a man saving the world, it becomes about a man saving his own world. A world created for him by his father, that has been influenced every step of the way by his father and the only way to save it is to seek the truth about him himself, the man who shaped him and the universe they exist in.
At several points in the film, McBride is subjected to psychological evaluations essentially having to convince machines and faceless supervisors that nothing is wrong with him. Pitt's performance is subtle because his character is constantly having to put on a mask of collected clarity. An important line of dialogue, in the beginning, mentions that McBride's heart rate never goes erratic during stressful situations even the opening sequence where the character is blown off a structure and hurtles towards earth's atmosphere. McBride must be strong, he must be in control, he can't let anything get in the way of his mission, just like his father. It feels as if McBride must have a persona of antiquated masculinity for himself to be taken seriously, he is the son of a legend so he must be better. As Gray strips away the humanity from the universe however he injects humanity back into McBride, tearing away this subconscious need to act like a man. Brad Pitt as McBride is ingenious but it is Gray's direction that keeps the character fascinating, putting the character forward into more uncharted territory facing the deepest fears of in his psyche. Pitt may feel monotone through his narration but its that baseline that makes his emotional bursts all the more striking and noticeable as the mask begins to break away the closer he gets to Clifford. Every decision is calculated with McBride, a flawless combination of performance, direction and cinematography to capture the spiritual and physical journey of this character.
Ad Astra is a dream come to life as the visual marvel Hoyte van Hoytema's crafts give the vast unknown a stunning beauty that hasn't been felt since Kubrick's own odyssey. The film grain enriches the colours but gives amazing depth to the production design of the film, the surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and the details of every spacecraft and suit just absorb audiences into this world. Reflections on McBride's visor, the cool blue glow from Neptune, the white suit against the black void, so many visuals in Ad Astra are breathtaking as they take the audience to a place beyond their recognition. It cements the feeling that McBride is venturing far beyond the humanity of earth, wide shots capture the sense of isolation and alien environments showing that despite all of their scientific progress there is still so much outside of humanity's understanding and control. Max Richter's haunting score only exemplifies this with the epic orchestral sounds capturing the indescribable beauty of the final frontier. This is where the story and character blend effortlessly with the cinematic language as Gray doesn't need to rely on heavy exposition to tell the story but can just allow these visuals and sounds to create the journey all on their own.
McBride wants answers about many things, to understand his father, to understand his place in the universe, to understand what really matters. These questions of existence, the desire for this unknown knowledge will continue long after but Ad Astra through its incredible vision shows why the desire for these answers is so important. It serves as a reminder to why these questions are asked, to why humanity sought to venture beyond and why we as a species seek companionship with each other. Through love and family, many may find their answer to understand their existence but its the journey that leads you there, the life you lived and if you're lucky the love you shared. Ad Astra is a compelling piece of cinema that burrows deep into the soul of its audience and has one confront the very nature of their being, a reminder to many of the power this medium possesses and what it can accomplish. Ad Astra won't give you the answers to the universe but will remind you to keep going, to keep searching, to know that the pursuit to understand who you are is a journey worth taking.
The only way to find our answers is to seek them, no matter the obstacle.
Per aspera ad astra.
Director: #JamesGray
Release Date: September 18th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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