What fascinates the film "To the Stars" - a drama about loneliness or "Interstellar" vice versa

It is easy to see that the screen fiction about space flights, for a long time captured exclusively by action and adventure, has again become a genre where complex dramas are filmed. At the same time, approximately from the moment of the release of "Gravitation" and "Iterstellar", an incredibly beautiful picture was added to such plots.

To the Stars by James Gray continues this pleasant trend. The picture, released on Russian screens, has already received critical acclaim after the Venice Film Festival.

Brad Pitt plays astronaut Roy McBride - always a calm professional, whose heart rate does not exceed the norm even in emergency moments. After several energy outbreaks occur in space that threaten all living things, Roy sets off on a long journey to the planet Neptune. After all, what is happening may be related to his father. He once led a secret space expedition, but disappeared under strange circumstances.

Ancient history in a new shell

According to the description, it may seem that "To the Stars" is the heir to popular science fiction stories about space. There is a threat to the whole world, and the personal emotional involvement of the character, and even the image of an imperturbable hero saving humanity.

It adds to the irony that Roy's beloved is played by Liv Tyler and this brings to mind "Armageddon", and the famous Hoyte Van Hoytema, who shot "Interstellar", acted as the operator.

In addition, the trailers show falls, chases and explosions, accompanied by loud noises. Why not a typical blockbuster about a superhero?

But this is all - if not deception, then only a small and far from the main component of the film. The picture refers to much older themes in the visual range and in ideas will rather refer to Kubrick's 2001 Space Odyssey, or even Tarkovsky's Solaris.

It is not for nothing that in the original the film received the Latin name Ad Astra - this phrase is known to many by the phrase Per aspera ad Astra ("through thorns to the stars"). It quickly becomes clear that the point here is not in the flights and chases themselves, but only in the development of the hero.

Roy travels into space to find his father, who has long abandoned his family. But the hero needs this only for himself. He must finally let go of his past, become finally an adult and not think about the trauma of childhood that forever torn him away from the outside world.

Everything else remains in the background. Therefore, the picture cannot be called a disaster or dystopian film, although humanity is not shown here in the most favorable light. Gray makes it clear that future progress will never make people better. Even if everyone can freely fly to the Moon and Mars, crime, government secrets and ordinary selfishness will not go anywhere. This means that history will forever repeat its own mistakes.

Therefore, "To the Stars" simply offers a fresh look at the classic myths and legends of different times: about the knight who defeated the dragon and himself became a new dragon, about the maddened god, about the search for other forms of life and, of course, about fathers and children.

Solo performance about loneliness

Perhaps the theme of the loss and insignificance of man in infinite outer space is already too hackneyed. Still, "To the Stars" is one of the few films where the state of loneliness was made the center of the plot.

"Interstellar" talked about the last hope of mankind, the heroes of "Gravity" and "The Martian" thought primarily about their own survival. But here the opposite is true.

Indeed, in fact, this film is not about saving the father or the whole world, but about finding oneself.

That is why the action is focused exclusively on the experiences of the protagonist, sometimes reminiscent of the work of Terrence Malick. Here is exactly the same offscreen voice, close-ups and attempts to understand what makes a person human. After all, how to look for other forms of reason if the hero cannot figure out himself?

That is why it is simply impossible to imagine someone other than Brad Pitt in the lead role. Yes, he already shone this year in Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But it is "To the Stars" - a real test for the level of acting. And Pitt stood it. He often has to play with only his eyes and barely change his facial expression. And the viewer should feel all those emotions that the character is trying so hard to hide.

All the other actors, despite the large list of high-profile names in the credits, remain only extras who come into the frame, help the protagonist to better reveal himself and disappear without a trace. Alas, this even applies to Tommy Lee Jones, who perfectly played Roy's father. Sometimes it becomes a shame that they are all just a background. Still, "To the Stars" is a one-actor theater.

But this idea has a significant drawback. The director found it too difficult to combine such a plot with the necessary action sequences for the story. As a result, either slow plans and reasoning will seem too protracted, or, on the contrary, the next scene of a fight or chase will destroy the unhurried dramatic atmosphere.

Villeneuve did this very well in Blade Runner 2049, but Gray does not always succeed. Because of this, the picture looks too motley, and for sure not all viewers will be able to fully experience the hero's path.

Cosmos beauty triumph

But if it seemed that there was no place for beauty in philosophical history, that is a mistake. It is the shooting and special effects that compensate for almost all the roughness of the script.

The triumph of the beauty of space in the film "To the Stars" with Brad Pitt

From the very first scene of the fall, which was shown in the trailer, the whole scale of what is happening falls on the viewer. Van Hoytem's camera, accompanied by music by Max Richter, makes the viewer feel almost like a participant in the events.

"To the Stars" is a drama that must be watched in the movies, and even better in IMAX. Otherwise, it is difficult to experience racing in low gravity or dizziness from flying in zero gravity.

And even here the authors do without unnecessary flickering. Long plans allow you to feel the endless emptiness of space, and the battle with pirates looks exciting precisely because of the smooth movement of the lunar rovers.

And in more intimate scenes, they use the reflections in the mirror surface of the space helmet with might and main, as if separating the hero from the whole world again, and play with the color scheme, either flooding everything with an alarming red color, or making one feel the sterile whiteness of the spacecraft's equipment.

The film "To the Stars" is a triumph of Brad Pitt's acting skills and an ode to the beauty of space. But there is no need to expect from the tape vigorous action, extraterrestrial life forms and other "Star Wars". This is almost a meditative sight, in which the old as the world tragedy of each individual and humanity as a whole is hidden.