Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is galactic in scope, offering cutting-edge visual effects, thematic heft, and a story that acts as a shake-and-bake existential crisis.

In depicting Earthly collapse, the film summons massive sandstorms and changing attitudes about science. The irretrievability of time is on display as well, both in Cooper leaving Earth behind, and in time dilation in proximity to the black hole. Both bring into sharp relief the finite nature of life at large as well as the resources within which it is framed.

Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, is faced with a horrific choice. He can continue to live his days out with his family, but he will watch the Earth wither around him. His children will choke to death on the poisonous air. Humanity will be extinguished from the cosmos.

Instead, he can leave with the mission of finding a potential solution for all of humanity; he hopes to secure a future for his children by sacrificing being with them for an indeterminate amount of time. Climbing aboard the gorgeously designed Endurance, Cooper takes to the stars.

This creates not just an existential crisis but a familial one, as Cooper’s children, Murph and Tom, are both deeply damaged by his departure in different ways. Murph commits herself to science but refuses to contact her father; Tom doubles down on an Earth-based worldview, embracing a planet that is dying beneath his feet and slowly becoming bitter and disillusioned.

The film posits love as a sort of fifth fundamental force of the universe. This is demonstrated when Brand, one of Cooper's fellow travelers and a scientist played by Anne Hathaway, insists on a particular destination but is voted down. She is determined to follow in the footsteps of one of their forerunners who she is in love with. Cooper believes this compromises her decision making. But in the end, Brand’s instinct proves correct. Murph is also able to communicate with her father across time and space when he is inside the Tesseract, in concert with gravity; this further cements love as a quantifiable force with scientific consequences.

Crisis is offered at every corner. Cooper is separated from his family and his mission is facing immense adversity. With the world dying, there remains no scientific hope of evacuating the planet. This is made worse when one of their forerunners, who beckons them with promises of a planet suited for human life, turns out to be a liar and a coward. He creates a whole new catastrophe, failing to dock with the main ship when hijacking it and causing an explosion. This prompts the most impressive sequence in the film.

Cooper speeds toward the broken ship and when questioned as to what he is doing, he simply responds, “Docking.” The music takes on absurd intensity in the face of Cooper’s insurmountable task. He is told bluntly by one of their accompanying robots that what he is attempting is not possible; Cooper coolly responds, his eyes on target, “No. It’s necessary.” Miraculously, Cooper attaches to the ship, resolves an impossible crisis, and proceeds to the next part of the mission.

Interstellar paints a hopeful picture of humanity against a stark backdrop. It acknowledges the ability of humanity to overcome great hostility over long distances in order to sustain itself. Cooper meets every task with determination, and down on Earth so does Murph. Her determination is key in solving the scientific question of evacuation, effectively saving humanity.

But determination alone isn’t enough. We see Cooper slip into Gargantua, the massive black hole living in the neighborhood of their prospective planets. The depiction of the black hole is mind-bending and massive in scope. It is also the bearer of some scientific credibility, as it was brought to life partly with the help of physicist Kip Thorne. In fact, in the years following the film's production, NASA released images taken using the Event Horizon Telescope, which corroborate Nolan’s depiction.

In keeping with this, even the technology of the film seeks to be more grounded than typical sci-fi, going for a NASA-punk aesthetic. This was an important distinction; the human crisis is not complete if the humans are technologically equipped to handle it well. The limitations of the technology further the atmosphere of uncertainty and doom.

And technology is even further limited when Cooper finds himself in the Tesseract, the heart of Gargantua. He sees his own life from many points in time, tormented by his decision to leave his children. But it is when he realizes he can communicate with Murph across time that he is able to relay the data she needs for humanity to take flight. Determination was essential. But it was the love of a parent and child that united across time and space that saved humanity.

With a flicker of humanity close to being extinguished, this film responds resoundingly, “Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.” Heavy but Heavenly, Interstellar is an unparalleled viewing experience and one of the definitive films in space cinema.