Out in space, the crew of the Aether are completing their tour of a distant planet and readying for return, oblivious to events back home. The film was shot in Iceland, often outdoors during bad weather and extreme cold. It's 2049, but he may as well have been living through 2020: when we first meet him, he's playing chess alone, talking to his computer, slugging whiskey and watching old films (50s apocalypse drama On the Beach cameos) while scanning the dial for signs of life. Augustine Lofthouse, an ailing scientist who's elected to stay behind at an Arctic observatory in the wake of some unspecified, worldwide catastrophe. Snow-bearded and bushy of brow, Clooney is Dr. "I'm afraid we didn't do a very good job of looking after the place while you were away," he grumbles into his radio communicator, with the kind of solemn conviction that practically dares an audience to keep a straight face. The actor-director's first feature film in three years, and a return to sci-fi after his role in Gravity (2013), is an adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton's post-apocalyptic novel about a lone, ageing scientist attempting to establish contact with a crew of astronauts who've yet to discover that their home planet has gone to seed. If the idea of a big, contemplative space movie sounds like the perfect antidote to a claustrophobic year on Earth, then George Clooney's ambitious new sci-fi drama - brimming as it is with grand themes, earnest performances, and interstellar karaoke - may be just the emotional release
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |