Interstellar

“love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” lord forgive me for i have sinned; i was wrong about this movie and it took a third watch to understand that this is a fantastic watch. while this is not a perfect movie, it holds some of christopher nolan’s most heartfelt storytelling. i want to begin with the visuals. what a stunning depiction of space and it is so spectacular how they managed to give the unknowns of our universe dazzling imagery while maintaining the grounded nature of the film. immersion is the best way to describe watching this film as you genuinely feel like you are in the cockpit of the endurance. the mix of practical and cgi just worked for me and despite being ten years old, this shit looked brand new, fresh out of the oven crisp. one cannot talk interstellar without talking about the score. hans zimmer is that guy. dune’s and inception’s scores are fantastic, but hearing this film in that imax theater is just something else. the docking of the endeavor (holy shit i ascended to another realm in the theater during this), the black hole, cooper leaving earth; they all are distinct moments emotionally elevated by the music. seeing in imax was such a treat and i knew going in that it was the music and visuals as my previous praises. while it looked and sounded better than i’d ever seen it, i had never quite felt the heart and soul of this film as much as i did tonight. this is a story of love, one that finds a way to bridge the divide across spacetime. the finite bounds of time are what drive us subconsciously to make each and every decision, each and everyday. while the film is so large in scope, it very rarely loses the focus at its center: murph and cooper. the cost, however, of maintaining that focus is the stuff surrounding that relationship and the world building. my major gripes on previous viewings was mann as a character and the ending. mann unfortunately, despite matt damon’s best efforts, still does not work for me as a “twist” villain and it is almost comical hearing him explain his motivation and plan. none of it feels earned and his demise only felt like a means for nolan to move cooper towards the climax. however, the ending has grown on me. the suspension of disbelief builds and builds but fortunately didn’t topple for me even in the fifth dimension or wherever the fuck cooper was. i think most of this is due to matthew mcconaughey’s incredible performance. i don’t care that much of the film doesn’t make sense. i don’t care that that most characters don’t really ever get developed beyond being apart of the crew or family. i care that i am feeling strong emotions while watching and mcconaughey’s guttural screams and silent sobbing really sell how devastating his departure is. after everything, hope for humanity remains and i think i can firmly say that i think my newfound enjoyment has come from both maturity and me beginning to reflect on the time that i have spent living. this is an intergalactic journey but also a personal journey and while the space stuff is cool, when a film gets me to reflect on my own standing in life and what i am to do next, i can’t help but praise. nolan’s obsession with time really peaked here and while i still prefer inception and some of nolan’s other work, this definitely has climbed its way up for me.