‘Interstellar’ is science fiction at its mind-bending best

Written by Scott Russell, contributor
Promotional image from Paramount Pictures.

With the excellent “Interstellar,” director Christopher Nolan continues his career-long crusade against mindless moviemaking. This film is an artful, operatic science fiction epic with a potent emotional core. It’s Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos” on steroids, and my top winter break entertainment recommendation.

The story of “Interstellar” begins on a bleak near-future Earth, where a worldwide blight has turned the planet into one enormous, dystopic Dust Bowl. As a global food shortage looms, the stage is set for humanity’s last-ditch attempt to find a new home among the stars. This situation is explained through some clunky expository dialogue, a necessary evil for films of this genre.

While I won’t spoil the complex plot’s many twists and turns here, I will say that following along with them can be quite challenging. Clocking in at nearly three hours long, “Interstellar” does not make for an easy, absent-minded or bathroom break-friendly moviegoing experience — the film requires, and deserves, your full attention.

Nolan co-wrote the film’s screenplay with his younger brother, Jonathan Nolan — the two have collaborated on a number of highly-regarded films, including “Memento,” “The Prestige,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” The brothers Nolan specialize in stark, cerebral films, and “Interstellar” is no exception.

The film’s cast is fantastic from top to bottom, led by one of the biggest names in Hollywood today: Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”). He takes on the central role of Cooper, a widowed space pilot and father of two who is charged with leading the intergalactic search for humankind’s new home world.

McConaughey, who is currently in the midst of a remarkable career reinvention that has been dubbed the McConaissance, knocks this role out of the park. His raw, powerful performance clearly conveys the arduous inner conflict between Cooper’s love for his family and his drive to save the human race.

Cooper’s relationship with his daughter Murph, who is named after Murphy’s Law, is the beating heart of the film. Mackenzie Foy, the talented actress who plays 10-year-old Murph, clearly has a bright future ahead of her, and Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”) gives an exceptional performance – perhaps the film’s best – as adult Murph.

Nolan turns to a number of familiar faces to round out his supporting cast, including the always-excellent Michael Caine (“The Dark Knight”) as Professor Brand, the brains behind NASA’s exploration efforts. Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables”) is also impressive as Brand’s daughter Amelia, a scientist and astronaut. Last but by no means least is a shocking surprise cameo – I won’t spoil it for you, but this link certainly will.

It’s difficult not to compare “Interstellar” to Alfonso Cuarón’s Academy Award-winning “Gravity” – both films have incredible visual effects, strong scores, and intense suspense. “Interstellar” also contains echoes of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic that paved the way for modern sci-fi filmmaking. All three films are sure to go down in history as some of the finest works that the genre has to offer.