By Alex Wheeler
Features Editor
and
Joseph Conway
Contributing Writer
—
“Sometimes you need to go back in order to move forward,” Matthew McConaughey echoes in the new Lincoln MKC commercial. In a sense, this sums up Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar in a lot of ways, but to avoid spoilers, we won’t get too much into that.
This past weekend, Interstellar took movie theaters by storm. Audiences lined up to see the newest film from the man and crew that brought the world The Dark Knight Trilogy, and while some reviewers have given Nolan a hard time, we here at The Chronicle are here to set the record straight.
Alexander’s Opinion
Most critics have hailed Interstellar as a picture awfully similar to the likes of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, with its ambitions, intelligence and scope. I’d rather compare Nolan’s 169-minute journey to classic Spielberg blockbusters, because of the wonder and grandeur of the piece.
Particular praise goes to McConaughey, who beautifully anchors the film as Cooper, as he solidifies his presence at the top of the Hollywood food chain. His performance is raw, painful and inspiring. His face alone is a singular portal of emotion that keys the audience into his pain and suffering after leaving his children.
The cinematography, done by Hoyte van Hoytema, is crisp, sharp, and slick. Most of Nolan’s films have been captured by cinematographer Wally Pfister, but the sudden change here doesn’t leave anything to be desired.
Hoytema’s camera paints a broad and beautiful picture of Nolan’s world. Hans Zimmer’s score is also superb and accompanies the film perfectly.
Nolan has directed and written (with collaboration from his brother Jonathan) another winner, and a film that shows a surprising amount of emotional depth, for Nolan at least. The screenplay is full of wit, emotion and even humor. As smart as the screenplay can get, it’ll be more than likely that Nolan’s direction will the aspect of the production that gets the most recognition – and it is absolutely warranted.
With Interstellar, both Nolan and McConaughey continue their strong track records in an industry that could use more of them.
Joseph’s Opinion
With strong performances, a compelling story and a powerful presentation, Interstellar may just launch itself past some bad press from reviewers, right into being an Award Great.
One of the problems I had with David Ayer’s Fury was that there were no storylines within the movie that made me care what happened to the characters. I did not have this problem with Interstellar. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan created a story that truly glues the audience to the screen early on and never lets them go.
By taking their time to show the problems that Earth faces, the audience gets to understand the stakes of Cooper’s mission, and throughout the film those stakes make the audience care about the pilot’s success.
As our hero, Cooper, guides his ship through wormholes and past black holes, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema presents these aspects of space as beautiful events that none of us will ever view in person.
While these fascinating visuals are revealed to the audience, they are also treated to an award-worthy score from Hans Zimmer. Sometimes, I found that I was gripping the arms of my chair for no reason other than the music pulsing through my ear and into my brain. The lulls that gave me a calming sensation were often interrupted by powerful, crashing notes that built tension and fear for what would happen next.
Perhaps the greatest aspect of Interstellar was the performances. Due to his performances in Mud, Dallas Buyers Club, True Detective and even those Lincoln car commercials, Matthew McConaughey has garnered a lot of praise from film and TV critics. With his performance in Interstellar, he is sure to gain some more. Cooper, throughout the film, is compelled to save Earth for his children, but he also hopes to fulfill a promise to his daughter.
As the movie progresses, it seems more and more like he may fail, and you can see the way in which the possibility of his failure weighs on Cooper. McConaughey won an Oscar last year for his portrayal of a man struggling to survive and live with a horrible disease. This year, we see a man who struggles to survive and live to save his family and one day see them again.
Due to some negative reviews this prediction may be a long shot, but if I learned anything from Interstellar, it’s that sometimes you have to keep up hope even when something seems impossible.
Overall, we grant Interstellar the highest of the Award Greats thus far. Stellar job, Nolan, absoultely stellar.
Alexander’s Predictions
Picture, Director, Actor,
Original Screenplay,
Cinematography, Score
Joseph’s Predictions
Picture, Director, Actor,
Supporting Actress,
Cinematography, Score
