Ad Astra
2019
****
Director: James Gray
Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, John Ortiz, Greg Bryk, Loren Dean, Nataha Lyonne, John Finn
In the near future, man has colonies on the moon and Mars. Some 30 years earlier, an expedition commanded by H. Clifford McBride travelled further to look for signs of intelligent life, until it all went quiet near Neptune. Now Major Roy McBride is sent out to make contact with his long-lost father when the mission spacecraft is believed to be the source of mysterious power surges which threaten the entire solar system. Apocalypse Now meets Interstellar in James Gray's slow but hypnotic meditation on cosmic loneliness. Roy's trip to the heart of universal darkness includes some awe-inspiring ideas and stunning set pieces, even if its conclusion left me a bit underwhelmed. Brad Pitt gives a wonderfully understated lead performance.
