Movie Review: INTERSTELLAR

I’ll Be Back

This was the movie of the year. Don't know about other people but I’m a big Christopher Nolan fan. This (and the final hobbit part) was the movie I’ve been waiting to see all this year and since word got out about Nolan’s next project. This was the one movie I couldn’t possibly miss.

I was excited to see what Nolan could present about space and time travel which is a subject which always fascinated me. Time Travel, Space Shuttles, strange planets, unexplained wormholes, what there not to like? A science fiction drama set about space exploration ‘interstellar’ will blow you away. This was Nolan’s first movie of such kind and he established a new territory.

This year’s been a fine ride for the genre with some great movies like- Guardians of the Galaxy, Edge of Tomorrow and now Interstellar, the grandest experience of them all.

The movie starts with Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), an engineer who used to work for NASA but is a farmer now growing corns as the world faces a catastrophic food shortage and named his daughter after Murphy's Law played by Jessica Chastain (adult Murph).

The earth is a barren planet now, continuously losing its habitability. The crops are dying, oxygen levels decreasing and more species of edible plants are becoming extinct due to virus and decay. The atmosphere on earth is more volatile now, characterised by violent dust storms and disturbed levels of natural forces like gravity and magnetism.

Amidst one such dust storm, Cooper notices a pattern of dust in his daughter’s room which he presumes to be some kind of signal and decodes them as coordinates of some place and starts heading there with his daughter. The coordinates turn out to be of some secret facility built and kept confidential by the government and run by NASA officials. Cooper finds an old colleague Dr. Brand (Michael Caine) there who explains him about the situation humanity is currently in which is even more dreadful than what people believe. He tells them that humans do not have enough time left and very soon they’ll die of suffocation. Then he presents him two solutions- Plan A and Plan B to supposedly ensure mankind’s survival. Plan A is to help Dr. Brand solve a lifelong equation to harness the power of gravity by going in the wormhole and send the data to him so he can shift the remaining humans to a new habitable world by carrying them all on a space station. Plan B ensures the survival of humankind but not the safety of living humans. Plan B is to go to a habitable world and start a human colony there by the fertilised eggs the explorers are carrying. Dr. Brand asks for cooper’s help to pilot the Guardian and help them save humans. Cooper agrees and goes onto a voyage from where he might not ever return. Before an emotional separation from his daughter, he gives her a watch to compare time when he gets back. All this is paced up by the stellar music from Hans Zimmer. Till the departure from earth and any actual revelation, the background score and the performances are the things which holds pace of the movie as strongly as its meant to be trying to avoid any dull moment which might crop up. The chasing of the droid scene and the mixed score with announcements and loud noises where you can hear the countdown when Cooper’s leaving his house are some things not to be missed.

Then the ultimate journey starts. The one which will decide the fate of mankind. And here starts the ballad of some grand tones. Loud noises, suddenly everything silent showing the incapability of sound to travel in space till the very first docking onto the Guardian and its spinning to create artificial gravity through centrifugal force. It's just all so very powerfully dramatic.

After waking up from hibernation (from nice liquid filled pods) the crew, Cooper, Dr. Brand (daughter of Dr. Brand, Michael Caine), Romilly, Doyle and two artificially intelligent robots, TARS and CASE enter the wormhole near Saturn to travel to the three habitable lands as per the received data from astronauts sent earlier.

Sometimes interstellar gives a very surreal feel. Showing the amazing spectacles within the boundary of reality or what can be called as extended reality as the events are theoretically possible but have never been observed. Their travel through the wormhole is as breathtaking as it should be. Travelling in the wormholes to commute with hints of extra-dimensional species and all space around them being turned to some liquid are scenes which are understandable from a science fiction point of view. The inside of a wormhole is liquid-isy because of the popular belief that time is a flowing river. It even reminds of Cowboy Bebop where they use gates similar to wormholes shown in the movie.

The movie feels very inspired from other works in the genre. You can see glimpses or plot devices somewhat similar to movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gravity, Contact, Alien and Nolan’s very own Inception. Probably the most influenced movie ever made by Nolan but it still presents an unprecedented epic experience. Also there are some trivial yet interesting things in Murph's bookshelf like The Stand by Stephen King which is also set in a post apocalyptic world and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, suggesting the mystery behind the bookshelf.

The twists and turns as the plot progresses after reaching the first planet are to die for. The thrill that builds up when cooper tries to stabilise the Guardian with his shuttle, the massive (real massive) waves and the character of Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) and his cynical plan are things which make Interstellar such interesting.

Where Interstellar lacks is the emotional connect with the audience. People can't identify with characters' feeling's and their deaths. Despite great performances, fantastic mysteries and just the correct amount of tragedies, the movie never appeals to the human soul in it. It remains as cold as Mann's icy planet (like Hoth from Star Wars) and barren as the earth in it from start to end. Yes, it will give you some very memorable moments but nothing to hold on to them. Led just a little down by trying to force love angle in it.  

Thus, a movie so good and engrossing, pulling you deeper and deeper into its mysteries. With a little digression to love and its connect from the actual theories and story but nevertheless an amazing flick. I won’t say Nolan outdid himself because he’s made it a standard now to make such good movie one after the other on a diverse topic. My advice- Don’t miss this one for the world. (but remember to brush up on your astronomical physics a bit or just read Kip Thorne’s book)

At the end you'll discover, the time travel which already took place before you saw it and the circle of time.
This time Nolan didn't leave any loose end (except fate of Dr. Brand which isn't much of a thing to ponder over). Completing the story from start to finish very very satisfactorily. Afterall, the story is a circle and you don't make a circle without completely closing it.

After coming out of the theatres you're bound to talk and discuss the plot and the scientifically accurate yet unbelievable events. And you'll look down to try to understand the power, functionality and enigma of the most fundamental force of all- Gravity ; the flow, repetition and varied existence of Time; the infinitely extending and thus infinitely filled with probability of uncertain events and even tearing through itself- The Space. Gravity-the medium, Time- the room and Space- the gate for the unknown dimensions.

For further exploration of this massive spectacle, please read my next post- Thematic Analysis of Interstellar which will disclose ,in detail, each and every strange phenomenon that occurred, the significant purpose of every event that influenced the story and the philosophy behind it.

The Theft- Second Part

The Theft (Part II)

23 July 1999, exactly 15 years ago from this day, a little boy’s mother was murdered in cold blood. Rain pouring all over. Similarly cold night. The boy was sleeping in his bed. 10 year old little lad, still suffering from the consequences of a tiny bladder. He was often teased about this fact, in the school and at the home. He felt embarrassed every time he found his mom mention it to anyone. They’d always say,” isn’t he too old to pee in his bed” or “you should seek a doctor, maybe he’ll prescribe something”. His mom always laughed it off. She knew he’ll just outgrow it.

That night was different, this time the boy had woken up in time and was delighted about the fact that his bed wasn’t wet but he heard some kind of noise which frightened him. Still he had to answer nature’s call. The boy hurriedly stood up from his bed. Walking in darkness wasn’t his strong suit either, so he slowly walked to the door, using the light from beneath the door as a beacon. There, he reached the door, pulled the handle down and the door slid itself outside because of yesterday’s oiling. It was the same reason behind it being so noiseless otherwise the creaking sound in the middle of the night would’ve woke up the neighbours. The earlier vague sounds now became clear. It was a woman, his mother yelling at someone.

The voices scared the boy, but he had to pass the living room in order to get to the other side of the house. So he started walking downstairs. Very slowly, silently. Just when he reached around the wall, a glass smashed. The boy froze right where he was. He was at the bottom of the staircase, just behind a wall from where he could see the corner of the living room and there stood his mum arguing with the tall man. There was water all over the floor. She was cornered, looking terrified as almost about to cry. The little boy had never seen his mom crying or scared. He could not see the man’s face as he was facing towards his mom. “No, I don’t want to see you, not ever again. Go away!”, she said. The man punched the wall, clearly agitated. But went away silently, nicely closing the door on his way out.

Claire took a deep breath. She was relieved at last. Now her eyes fell upon the little kid behind the wall. “Go back to your room, boy” she said firmly. “I just wanted to go to the toilet”, he replied. “Hurry up and go back to sleep, there’s school tomorrow”, she said. Just when the boy was about to move his little feet, the door opened suddenly with a loud thud and that tall man returned with a shovel held up high in his hands. Hit Claire on the back of her head, she fell on the floor but he was still angry so he kept on hitting her head. Just there, right in front of the boy, he bludgeoned his mother to death. When he finished, he threw the shovel there, gave the boy a dreaded look and went away again nicely closing the door on his way out.

The boy just stood there, his mind went blank for a while there before he started crying. Hearing all the noises, the neighbours came running and Mrs. Acorn screamed at the top of her voice before fainting as she gazed upon Claire’s body.

The boy remembers it all to this very day. After 15 years, just like it was last night. He remembers Mr. Acorn running and picking him up, trying to calm him. Calling the emergency number for reporting a homicide and an ambulance for his unconscious wife. The sirens after the local police arriving. The boy couldn’t help but notice a bald guy in one of the police cars but he wasn’t the one who killed Claire. The good policeman Mr. Moe with a big hairy moustache trying to get an idea of what happened here from the 10 year old, traumatised and unfortunate witness who wished it all to be just a nightmare. Although everyday was a nightmare after this incident. And the boy may not think of that night all the time now but he never forgot the pain. The horror still lingers in his heart. The fear which later turned to hatred and now, all those years later, he yearns for revenge.

It was a regular day at the Hooper and Looper accounting firm. People working with the same dedication as always. Everything normal till the office attendant came to Stewart’s cubicle. Stewart Johnson ‘Stu’ as his mama and friends called him. He was told to meet the manager as soon as possible. “You fraud”, exclaimed the manager as soon as he saw Stu. The manager accused him of embezzlement and stealing their clients’ money. “It was not me”, Stu cried. “I know money’s missing and I know it was you!”, the manager yelled. Stu’s pleading and arguing was doing no good to the situation. The manager was convinced that it was Stu who stole the money. Stu knew that his suspicion was also justified as his father was really sick recently and he asked the manager for an advance but even that wasn’t enough to get him the treatment he needed. How could he convince the manager that his estranged cousin won it big at gambling, gave a loan to Stu and died of drug overdose the week after. Stu was the obvious suspect. The manager gave him two options- to confess and resign or he would call the police. Stu had no choice. He knew the police won’t believe him either and he’ll end up in jail. So, he chose to confess to a crime he did not commit and promised to resign the day after. To Stu’s utter despair, this was exactly what the manager expected. That sly crook recorded the whole conversation and called the police immediately after Stu left his office. The police came and arrested Stu in front of his colleagues and dragged him to the police vehicle. “Hire a good lawyer”, officer Moe told Stu in a condescending voice.

They were on their way to the police station when there was a call on the radio asking anyone in the area to immediately report to a crime scene- homicide, female, mid-thirties, bludgeoned to death.

Instead of solving the mysteries, this part created some of its own.Who was this kid? Will he avenge his mother? And most of all- the fate of Joe? All of this will be sorted out in the next and final part of the series.

Till then, enjoy this video:-