REVIEW: Interstellar

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, David Gyasi, Michael Caine, Casey Affleck, Jessica Chastain, Timothee Chalamet, Mackenzie Foy, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn and the voice of Bill Irwin

Director: Christopher Nolan

Running time: 150 minutes

Released: November 7 (UK & Ireland)

THROUGHOUT the duration of Christopher Nolan’s megabudget space odyssey, one message is hammered home - the poet Dylan Thomas’ plea “do not go gentle into that good night / Rage, rage against the dying of the light”.

Clever sepia opening credits fade into a struggling landscape on a dying earth, where the population is stricken by dust storms, and a strong first hour establishes that we’re in a recognizable future where farming is the preferred career choice for this “caretaker generation”.

Surveillance drones and computer technology indicate that it’s earth, captain, but not as we know it.

A considerable portion of the population has been wiped out, and the younger generation are developing worrying hacking coughs. History has been rewritten for these people to ensure that their dreams remain earthbound but particularly unconvinced by this approach is former test space pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey).

He excels at farming his family’s patch, supported by his son, daughter and father-in-law, but after a strange set of circumstances leads him to an old friend Professor Brand (Michael Caine) - who has been working with his daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway) and a team on man’s future away from planet earth - Cooper agrees to leave his family behind to explore the options for habitation beyond the stars.

He must set off with a team with little knowledge of what they’ll find – or when, if ever, they’ll be back.

Nolan is a writer and director who loves making his audience think and/or leaving them wondering – Inception and Memento are just two prime examples – and Interstellar, which was co-written with his brother Jonathan, absolutely follows that pattern.

It certainly has a brain and packs its running time with philosophical ponderings and references to real technology and science including binary code, what might lie behind a black hole or wormhole, and lots and lots of discussion of gravity.

And it’s visually stunning, especially in Nolan’s favoured IMAX format, its biblical assaults (giant waves and the like) providing thrilling moments to keep the most laboured and episodic sections afloat.

But those who have seen Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity might feel that its accomplishments have diminished Interstellar’s star somewhat, and audiences may feel, to an extent, that they’ve been there, done that as far as shuttle and earth shots are concerned.

Cuaron’s piece, in addition, managed to retain its grip for its entire running time.

McConaughey’s lack of chemistry with Hathaway is partially damning for Interstellar’s emotional arc, and the strongest performances of the film come from young Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain, who play versions of Murph, Cooper’s daughter.

Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck 

A later surprise A-list appearance signals a little bit of stunt casting, but both of its terrific block robot characters TARS and CASE, and its Hans Zimmer score, are intelligent and effective.

Come lights up, this will be one of those films which will split its audience in two; there will be those who’ll adore its approach and enjoy contemplating its concepts – love, life, who are we, where are we headed - ad infinitum afterwards, and those who’ll leave the cinema consumed by frustration and confusion.