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There have been a slew of sci-fi films about people who had to travel to the far reaches of space in order to discover the truths within themselves, but none quite like James Gray’s masterful “Ad Astra,” which is set on the planet Mars. “Ad Astra” may not be the best choice for those looking for an action/adventure thrill ride (it’s more “Solaris” than “Gravity” or “The Martian”), but it works wonders on a deeper level, serving as an examination of masculinity, a commentary on how we become our fathers, and even a search for an absent God, among other things. Rare and nuanced storytelling, anchored by one of Brad Pitt’s best performances of his career and remarkable technical elements on every level, come together in this remarkable film. It’s a unique piece of work.
Roy McBride (Pitt) is the most relaxed man you’ll ever meet in a spacesuit. If we fast forward to a time when space travel is more common, McBride will be remembered as a man whose heart rate never rises above 80, even when he is falling to Earth, as he does in an early scene. One of the factors that contribute to that spectacular jump from a tower that extends from Earth into space is an electrical surge that causes widespread devastation across the entire planet, killing thousands of people. It is revealed to McBride by the suits in charge of space exploration that they have traced the source of the surge back to an anti-matter device stationed near Neptune, which just so happens to be the location where a well-known mission known as The Lima Project was last heard from. The goal for them was to travel to the farthest reaches of our solar system and look around at the rest of the universe in the hopes of finding intelligent life. They were successful in their mission. And it just so happened that H. Clifford McBride, Roy’s father, was the captain of the ship (Tommy Lee Jones). Roy has believed for years that his father is no longer alive, but it is now possible that he is not only alive but also responsible for an attack on Earth. A space mission sends him to Mars in order to communicate with his father, who has been presumed dead for years, in the hope that a response will enable them to pinpoint his interstellar location.
Natural disasters, possibly caused by an absent creator as the world loses hope—the religious allegory embedded in “Ad Astra” is crystal clear if you look for it, but it’s never overemphasized to the point that it takes away from the film’s urgency. Science fiction is frequently about the search for meaning, but this novel literally tells the story of man’s quest to find the One who created him and obtain some answers, including why He left us behind after creating the universe. First, McBride travels to the moon, which has been briefly reimagined as a tourist trap complete with a Subway, and then to Mars, which is the planet that has been colonized to the greatest extent. As in Gray’s previous film, “The Lost City of Z,” there is an element of how a man is transformed by his journey and exploration. As the hero with the perfect BPM begins to leave the comforts of his routine and his home, and as the stakes of his adventure rise, he will begin to notice an increase in his heart rate. The intimacy of the story is never lost, and Gray keeps us firmly tied to McBride’s point of view, experiencing and knowing only what he experiences and knows only what he knows. As a result, the film manages to be both massive and deeply personal in its treatment of its themes, which is no small feat.
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Not to be misunderstood, while this is a deeply philosophical film, there are also traditional action elements and what appear to be real stakes throughout McBride’s journey as well. People pass away. Mistakes are made by people. People are self-centered, fearful, and greedy. It appears as though McBride’s encounters with others along his journey, including those with characters played by Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga, are intended to bring out the humanity in him and illuminate his journey. As he draws closer to his creator and as he observes the flaws in those around him, the perfect man who fell to Earth becomes increasingly imperfect.
Ad Astra Quiz
Pitt, in one of his most subtle and graceful performances of his career, carries the emotional and physical weight of the film throughout its entirety. The grandeur of the space around him, as well as the details of the interstellar travel, would have distracted a lot of directors, but Gray allows the camera to linger on Pitt’s face in ways that no other director has really done before, resulting in what is arguably Pitt’s most complex performance to date. Pitt stays away from flashy choices at all costs, but he also avoids going too far in the other direction and making McBride appear stoic. There are no flaws in this flawlessly calibrated performance. With his work here and in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” 2019 is shaping up to be the best year of his professional life so far. Both of these performances are instant classics, and the fact that they are delivered in such radically different ways demonstrates his underappreciated acting range.
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Of course, as with all of Gray’s films, the quality of the craftsmanship is exceptional. In addition to the film’s mesmerizing visual palette, which ranges from black and white on the moon to a rusty red on Mars and beyond, the cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema, who worked on “Interstellar,” occasionally echoes his work on “Interstellar” in the way it balances extreme close-ups of masked space travelers with the vastness of space in various sections of the film. It’s also worth mentioning that the score by Max Richter is particularly effective, managing to be both intimately eerie and grandiose at the same time.
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We are living in an era of what some refer to as “highbrow sci-fi,” as films such as “Gravity,” “Arrival,” and “Interstellar” generate large sums of money and receive significant award consideration. For “Ad Astra,” neither of these scenarios appears likely. Even though it’s a little too strange to be a major box office hit, it’s being released by a studio in transition as it prepares to become part of the Disney empire. Gray’s film, on the other hand, will benefit from the passage of time. Despite the fact that it takes place in the future, it says something that will always be relevant about our search for meaning in a world in which it sometimes feels as if the things in which we used to believe and rely are no longer able to provide the same level of comfort. A number of lines and ideas in “Ad Astrafinal “‘s scenes worked on my emotions in ways I wasn’t expecting, and the film’s final scenes are particularly moving. Please be patient with me. Make an investment in it. The journey is worthwhile because the destination is worth it.Also, you must try to play this Ad Astra quiz.
For more personality quizzes check this: Pet Sematary Quiz.
