3.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for dramatic intensity, perilous action and brief profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 11.7.14
Nobody could accuse Christopher
Nolan of possessing modest ambitions.
His newest big-screen
extravaganza is a grim sci-fi drama that could be viewed as a reverential blend
of 1951’s When Worlds Collide and 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, with
additional nods to 1972’s Silent Running and Robert Heinlein’s 1956 novel, Time for the Stars.
 |
| When a solar-powered drone cuts across the sky above their corn field — a striking reminder of science long absent from a decaying United States — Cooper (Matthew McConaughey, left) attempts to hijack it while being watched by children Murphy (Mackenzie Foy) and Tom (Timothée Chalamet). |
Along with — and this is a
problem — the bleak despair and distasteful human behavior found in the 2009
adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel, The Road.
I had the same problem with
2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan’s final entry in his otherwise impressive
Batman trilogy. He and co-scripter (and real-world brother) Jonathan have a harsh
view of people facing large-scale calamity, a trait shared with novelist
Stephen King, at his gloomier moments. All three tend to assume the worst from
mob mentality, with little of the nobler instincts that might make our race
worth saving.
Then again, perhaps I’m unduly
optimistic, choosing to believe better of my fellow citizens.
Such philosophical musings aside,
Christopher Nolan has, over time, focused more on high-concept narratives and
visual pizzazz, and less on character development. That’s a bigger problem. His
dream-within-a-dream-laden Inception may have been a jaw-dropping head trip,
but its characters were flat, sterile and uninvolving: two-dimensional
archetypes about whom we didn’t give a damn.
Nolan has become more puppet
master than actor-oriented director, manipulating his characters solely to
maximize unexpected plot developments, as opposed to allowing them behavior
that seems recognizably credible. In a way, then, Nolan is akin to his dueling
magicians in The Prestige — Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale — forever
tricking each other for the sheer sake of one-upmanship.
That’s not as immediately
noticeable with this new film, mostly because Matthew McConaughey delivers
enough agonized angst to carry the first two acts. He has matured into a richly
expressive actor, and several of his scenes here are heartbreaking: none more
so than the manner in which his character’s face yields to uncontrolled sobs,
while catching up with some long-distance correspondence.
But that comes much later.
