Something about space often entices filmmakers to pair the eternal vastness of the universe with the comparatively tiny insignificance of human life and relationships. Kind of like how my poor insignificant body always seems to be paired with the endless supply of pizza and nachos that are slowly destroying me. Past films that explore this dichotomy of small mankind with infinite space include Interstellar (2014) and Contact (1997). Ad Astra, a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars", is another epic space adventure with a consistent emotional trajectory.
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, 2019) plays a veteran astronaut assigned to travel to an underground research facility on Mars to send a message to the edge of the solar system and possibly make contact with his missing father to avert a planetary disaster. Oh boy! That was a long sentence! But this complex and multi-layered premise is actually presented very smoothly and gracefully. Director James Gray (The Lost City of Z, 2016) doesn't rush anything, so the story has a maturity and patience that helps maintain its vibe of plaintive mystery. The story is like an allegory of humanity's relationship with God as an emotionally isolated man journeys to connect with his father searching for him in the stars.
The production design is stunning with exquisite cinematography and rich gradations of light that give this film an ethereal haunting quality and really elevate film to an art form. But the screenplay is less of an art form and more of a fast food menu filled with lines that are clumsy, prosaic, and even predictable. Brad Pitt does a fine job as a restrained yet wistful man reaching for lasting meaning. But when the story is so serious and works so hard at being philosophical and deep, the greeting card level of writing took me out of the story and back into my minuscule life. Ad Astra has some moments of promise, but it has some disappointments too.
