Interstellar – Christopher Nolan

“Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Professor Brand – Michael Caine

Interstellar is out of this world. It’s grandiose, it’s bold, and it delves into theories that the mind struggles to comprehend. The visual effects are stunning and the storyline is engaging, while the ever brilliant Matthew McConaughey gives another standout performance. Packed with emotion and dexterity, McConaughey’s character (Joe Cooper [Cooper or Coop]) develops well, displaying the ever tricky balance between choosing family and job (in this case his utter passion for exploration). The plot is well developed too. The narrative weaves pleasantly through a dystopian future, as humans look for an escape from a dying Earth. The characters are also convincing; Cooper’s daughter Murph (played as a child by the talented Mackenzie Foy and as an adult by the well casted Jessica Chastain) evolves through the film and she discovers more and more about her fathers choices, while her brother (also well casted with Timothée Chalamet as a young Tom and Casey Affleck as his older self ) learns to deal with the loss of a fatherly figure and grows into an adult. There are also some decent performances from Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, John Lithgow, and Michael Caine. As I’ve already touched on, the visual effects are sensational and it’s no wonder the awards were won in this department. The imagination put into the worlds the explorers visit and the methods of transportation, whether scientifically sound or not, are fantastic, along with the ideas of what could be inside a black hole and other theoretical dimensions that could coexist around what we already know. The costumes and production design is great too, as is the script. But Interstellar’s jewell in the crown is undoubtably courtesy of one Mr Hans Zimmer, who’s moving, tense score is absolutely superb. Zimmer’s ability to aid the viewers’ emotional response by weaving the music around the script, is just mesmerising. I could watch this film over and over again.

With corn now the most valuable resource on Earth and interplanetary exploration more important than warfare, the fate of the Earth is like no other film. Nolan’s conceptualisation of the future starts with farmers being the most important members of society. With no need for armies, staying alive is the necessity but as Coop discovers, even this is an inevitably flawed prospect. The opening forty-five minutes or so is spent building this concept and beginning the development of the Cooper family, all awhile a crescendoing waterfall of organ notes floods out the speakers. Even small details are backed up by big chords and strums on the organ – Zimmer’s choice of instrument for the main theme which reoccurs throughout- such as a simple chase through a cornfield (aptly named “Cornfield Chase” in the soundtrack). The next hour mindbogglingly plays with time and relativity and emotion, as the explorers set out to find an inhabitable planet. A particularly emotional scene in this sequence is provided by Coop who, after promising his daughter he would be back in a couple of years, watches the now grownup  Murph tell him she is now his age. The final sequence sees Coop descend into a black hole, after having a rather dramatic escapade on an ice planet with Matt Damon, who does a sterling job of summarising man kind’s final flight and desperation that he might sacrifice others around him to survive. The black hole bit really messes with your mind, as he falls into the “fifth dimension” and communicates with his past through gravity. He basically tell his past self and Murph to do exactly what he does throughout the film so he can get to where he is presently, so he can give Murph the key data to solve a gravity equation to save the human race. Simple right? Nolan collaborated with a theoretical physicist (Dr. Kip Thorne) who insisted that the science be based on real science and not movie magic. Boy does it work a treat.

Now if you hadn’t worked it out by now, I’m a huge fan of score. The only reason it didn’t win best original score at any of the award ceremonies is because it lost out to the magnificent The Grand Budapest Hotel at the Oscars and BAFTAs, and The Theory of Everything at the Globes. Fair enough I guess. But this doesn’t take away from the fact that the score is perfect. The emotion Hans Zimmer is able to bring out in every single note is sumptuous, and I’m not sure how anyone is able to simultaneously have you chew your fingernails down to the cuticle in suspense while tearing up. The constant beat on one note throughout most of the score mimics the tick of a clock; as time is a central theme, the ticking note is such a subtle yet effective method of keeping the suspense high, and it works a treat. Zimmer and Nolan opted for a church Organ and recorded a lot of the music live at Temple Church in London, with a live organist, with Nolan saying he wanted an element of religiosity, to portray what is beyond mankind. It is a brilliant choice of instrument, for its grand sound and complexity mirrors the complexity of the themes seen in the film. Arguably Zimmer’s finest work to date, his CV just gets better and better. 

There are few things I can find to fault, the most prominent of which being the complexity of the theories that it tries to comprehend. It takes a second viewing and a bit of reading around the subject to even begin to understand what’s going on (the science, not the narrative), but even this is no bad thing. Although having said that, trying to understand what is happening makes you feel sick. Jessica Chastain is bit annoying, but then she’s not my favourite actor around. Other than that, not much else stands out to me.

Overall, Interstellar is visually and audibly stunning, with a convincing plot and some emotional performances. The score is magical, the visual effects are beautiful, and the mixture of science and fiction is to a plum. It’s a bit of an emotional marathon and you really need to dedicate an afternoon to watch it in one sitting but I would definitely give up several more to rewatch. Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Awards
1 Oscar
1 BAFTA

Ratings
Cinematography – 8/10
Storyline – 9/10
Editing – 8/10
Sound/Score – 10/10
Acting – 8/10
Overall – 8.5/10