Movie Review: Ad Astra
SPOILER ALERT: I won’t get into overt spoilers, but I will discuss elements of theme and plot. If you prefer to go into a film without knowing any of that, I’d encourage you to watch the film before reading this review. Enjoy!
I’ve written before about how I’m not a big fan of trailers, but I must say - the Ad Astra trailer had me hooked right away. This seemed like a film for me. Having said that, the “space movie” does seem like a somewhat overdone genre, so how can a film really break ground here?
After watching Ad Astra, I think the answer to that question is that it is more concerned with the inward journey than the one outside in the expanse of the universe.
Even those that plumb the depths of their characters’ interior turmoil or history (Contact, Interstellar) end up focusing more so on the big questions out there. Ellie Arroway’s internal turmoil and her relationship to her father are mostly plot points in the service of a bigger story just as Coop’s relationship to his daughter is an emotional stakes raiser. Contact and Interstellar are two of my favorite films, and I wouldn’t say this film quite reaches their lofty heights. However, I would make the assertion that Ad Astra takes more of an interior view than those films - something that allows it to find an original story within the “space film” genre (and keeps it from falling prey to the same issues as Joker.)
The film’s main character is Roy McBride (Brad Pitt). He’s one of the top astronauts in the U.S. space program. His father, Clifford (Tommy Lee Jones), was a legend. Some questionable electromagnetic events cause chaos in parts of the world, and Roy is summoned by his superiors. He’s being sent on a mission to the farthest reaches of space that can be explored. He’s looking for answers about the cause of these events. But he’s also looking for more.
He quickly realizes that it is no coincidence that he has been chosen for this mission. Without giving away too much, the fact of his lineage was a major aspect of his selection. And so the film becomes, among other things, a film about fathers and sons. It’s a film about what drives us, in general. More specifically, it’s about what might possibly drive a person to send themselves off into the great unknown of space.
Again, this is a film that is far more concerned about us - human beings. I think that puts it in a different place than most other films about space. It’s hard not to become enamored with the storytelling opportunities that come from something as unknown as the great beyond, but many of those stories have already been told. I think this film flips all that and uses the unknown of space as a plot device to get to the heart of its investigation of human beings, rather than the other way around.
Another thing this film does is serve as a reminder that Brad Pitt may just be the most versatile actor of his generation. Even just this summer, we’ve been shown his great versatility. In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pitt showcases his charm and Hollywood leading man charisma. Here he gives a quiet, thoughtful performance that is just as convincing as his flashier work. Very few actors can do that. And those that can (Ryan Gosling and Oscar Isaac, among others) haven’t been doing it for as long as Pitt has. I think he sometimes gets written off for his looks, but Pitt has given us more than enough internal, gripping performances to make it clear that he isn’t just a pretty face. Here, he gives one of the best performances of the year - one that has all the potential of being an Oscar contender.
I also must admit that I was particularly enthused by the verisimilitude of the film’s Purdue University name-dropping. I’ve lived in Indiana my entire life, and both my parents went to Purdue. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve given in to my South Bend roots and cheered more for Notre Dame. But Purdue will always hold a special place in my heart. The school has an incredible history of involvement in the space program. My dad is an engineer, and for his birthday this year we went back to campus and toured the engineering facilities, including a building named in honor of Neil Armstrong. It’s a story element that most probably didn’t even notice, but I couldn’t help but smile when I heard it.
I was also moved by the way the father/son narrative really drove the film. Tommy Lee Jones is also fantastic, as he always is. He is one of my favorite actors, and even in a performance where he doesn’t have much screen time, he has such an impact on the film.
The film’s cinematography is astounding, but if you’re looking for the dazzling visuals that have often accompanied space movies, you may not be wholly satisfied. Despite how that sounds, I don’t mean it as a negative critique. The cinematography is fantastic, but it serves a story that is more muted in its handling of the awe and wonder of space than films like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Interstellar. Again, I think part of this is that the story is more concerned with the interior narrative than the exterior one. I appreciate that all aspects of the film served that approach, including the cinematography. I think this film has some of the finest cinematography of any film released this year.
To really get to the heart of this film, I think a better comparison is Apocalypse Now. I am certainly not the first, nor will I be the last to the draw that comparison. It is heady space for any film to trek, and I’m not sure that any film will ever quite reach the heights of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 war epic. But that film was able to analyze the monstrosity of war by looking inward. Ad Astra attempts to do the same with the enormity of space here. This is very much a journey into darkness, and any story in that vein will owe a great debt to Coppola’s masterpiece and, by association, to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
I did feel that the ending is a little too convenient and buttoned up. Without giving away overt spoilers, it didn’t seem to quite serve the story that came before it. At the same time, the ending is still powerfully moving nonetheless.
Overall, I think Ad Astra is the best film I’ve seen so far in 2019, and I was impressed by its ability to bring an original story out of a genre that has seen many films over the years.
NOTE ON CONTENT: The film has its fair share of violence - expolsions, hand-to-hand combat, and more of the like. There are also some startling scenes, but overall I did not find the film to be gratuitous. There isn’t any sexual content and only small amounts of profanity. This is a contemplative film, but it certainly deals with adult themes that may not be appropriate for younger viewers.