Ad Astra (2019) – Film Review – “Light in the Darkness”
Christ…it’s been a real drought, at the theatre.
It, Chapter 2 hasn’t been performing, will probably be gone before Halloween…
The Downton Abbey movie and the latest in the I-can’t-believe-it’s-still-going Rambo franchise are bringing folks in, but not in the swells that the studios thought, I’d wager….
With no solid spooky movies coming out this fall—don’t even get me started on the sad bastardization of The Addams Family, just around the bend—it’ll be…dead. At least until Rise of Skywalker.
Furthermore, while listening to a podcast speaking to the sad franchisation of some once-beloved IPs, remembering my time well-spent watching this film puts a smile on my face…and a tear in my eye.
But, I digress…
It’s the films that sweep under the radar that tend to be the best. Anything A24 distributes (read: Midsommar, just a few months back, plus the much-anticipated The Lighthouse, next month), and little gems like this: Ad Astra—a film by a no-name director, but one that’s competently-made and moving like I haven’t experienced in years. Let’s jump into the black… I’ll do my best not to spoil anything.
Brad Pitt is amazing, and drives the whole story. It’s his story—Roy’s, that is, our lone protagonist on this journey of finding oneself and facing down personal demons. Combining the heart-pounding thrills of Interstellar with the slow, philosophical pacing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pitt says a lot with his facial expressions and subtle movements that some actors in his position couldn’t even say with words. His arc, as well as the dynamic between his and Tommy Lee Jones’s character, is truly thrilling—I haven’t the words to articulate how I felt, walking out of this film. It’s a solitary, psychological character piece; slow, yes, but meaningfully-so—not at all wasting our time. It’s as much a mirror to us, the audience, as it is to the stone-cold work-a-day Roy. By traveling to the edge of our known universe, he finds himself, in the process.
The score emphasizes all the moments that need it, but doesn’t detract from the more serene, contemplative sequences. Directorially, it’s wonderfully-shot, as well. Lots of CGI, but it’s so well-done… It’s a window into the universe, itself. Only a couple, fleeting moments where I could pick out bad CG, but I was feeling too much to dwell on it. Edge-of-your-seat moments, followed up by gut-punching scenes of tear-jerking gravitas…and it all goes together so well.
I…bawled…at the end of the film. Walking out, I believe I described it to one of my ushers as “wrecking me”, salty tear streaks drying on my cheeks, but a hopeful smile on my face. The message is pure, and it’s just…a beautiful film. Definitely didn’t drag, just…full. Lots to say in two hours. James Gray knows his Kubrick, and how to evoke those same feelings of isolation and optimistic nihilism. I connected with the father-son dynamic, and loved the world-building, minus all the usual, clunky exposition we usually see.
A quote by sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke came to mind, while watching this…
“Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” A humbling notion, for sure. In the end, all we might have…is each other. This stupid little blue planet and the fragile life that exists here, may be the first and last of its kind in the whole of Creation. There may be nothing—no one else—waiting for us, out there in the endless black. It’s what we decide to do with that notion that shows our true colors, that makes us human—that picks us up when we’re down, pushes us to keep going.
Favorite film of 2019, easy. I will see it again in the theatre, and I will be buying it on Blu-Ray.
Final ‘Risk Assessment: *****/. Go check this one out on the big screen—IMAX, if available.
