Ad Astra - Movie Review

To the stars.

Ad Astra is a complex character study woven into a solar-system-spanning adventure narrative. This sprawling epic manages to be at once both inward and outward looking, examining humanity's obsession with seeking more from the universe whilst also exploring the inner workings of human psychology.

Astronaut Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is sent on a mission to locate his long-lost famous father Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), who was assigned to the mysterious Lima Project tasked with finding extraterrestrial life on the edge of the universe decades prior. This mission takes Roy on an emotional journey as he battles with his inner sense of isolation, depression, building insanity and conflicting feelings towards his father, whom he feels abandoned him as a child.

Ad Astra's strengths lie in its blend of quieter moments, in which Roy reflects on his situation and his feelings via sombre first person narration, and faster scenes which build tension and present the characters with life-threatening situations. A number of set pieces stand out including a thrilling, sci-fi gunfight on the surface of the moon and a tense encounter set in a claustrophobic space station during a mayday response. 

Pitt shines throughout with a consistently gripping performance. He accurately conveys a man who feels trapped by his own sense of isolation. He misses his ex-wife and bottles up his feelings in order to perform to the best of his ability. As the space opera progresses his walls are gradually broken down, revealing the depression that plagues him and how his abandonment as a child may have turned him into the introvert we see now. Roy shuns human interactions as best he can, choosing instead to convey his feelings to the robotic psychological evaluations which SpaceCom operatives are require to complete regularly. 

Pitt is thus able to flex the full spectrum of his acting resume, particularly when Roy is trapped in the Cephius for 79 days alone on the way to Neptune. Here, completely isolated from the universe, we witness Roy descend into madness, obsessing over his father and his indecision over how to now perceive the once-famous astronaut, whilst also re-watching an old message from his ex-wife Eve (Liv Taylor) and reflecting on his past actions in ignoring her and putting space between them. Few words are spoken by the astronaut during the montage, but his actions and expressions convey more than words, which feels particularly apt for a character as withdrawn as Roy McBride.

Whilst Liv Taylor is given surprisingly little screen-time to work with and even fewer lines, her character's impact on Roy is a driving force throughout the film. Roy's fears over letting his wife in is what ultimately led to their divorce, however as the viewer is placed in the mind of Pitt's character, we see the world from his perspective and thus see flashes of Eve throughout the movie as he regrets the mistakes he made in the relationship.

Tommy Lee Jones portrays a broken man in the form of Clifford McBride and when he finally encounters his son, the interaction is heartbreaking and revealing. McBride is a man driven to insanity through both his obsession with his mission and the loss of his crew to mutiny. He is fiercely committed to the search for life and the revelation that he has found nothing adds to the sense of isolation that pervades every aspect of the movie.

This revelation has very different impacts on McBride senior and junior - to Clifford, the idea of being alone in the universe breaks him and he remains in denial, whereas after his long, torturous journey, Roy interprets this news differently. He realises that he has been spending too much time looking to the stars, when in reality he should've paid attention to the beauty of Earth and the importance of relationships including that which he possessed with Eve. We are given two messages at the end of Ad Astra - one of hope and one of pessimism. Roy chooses hope and returns to Earth having discovered the importance of staying grounded and treasuring humanity for as long as it lasts.

Director James Gray creates a gorgeous universe in which to tell this story, a near future which feels realistic and imminent. The visuals are stunning and shots of deep space emphasise the sense of isolation that impedes Roy and indeed humankind. The film displays the tempting beauty of the galaxy, whilst also reminding us of the same beauty we possess on our planet.

The only problem with Ad Astra is sometimes it focuses for long stretches upon this beauty and thus the story struggles to move at a satisfying pace. Often there are periods of intense silence and little is said or done to move the plot forwards, which makes the movie feel sluggish and less enthralling.

Overall however, Gray produces a magnificent character study which hits the same notes as Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, but in a distinctly modern setting. As Roy ventures through the cosmos, he learns about his own fears and flaws, ironically delving deeper into isolation in order to discover the importance of connection. The film ends on a positive, hopeful note which feels suitably relatable to humanity's current aspirations to reach the stars, both figuratively and literally. We are advancing every day and searching for more when perhaps we should take more time to focus on the present and the beauties it can bring us.

RATING: 8/10