Space is often described in many different ways: terrifying, beautiful, breathtaking, dangerous, so on and so forth.
When it comes to sci-fi movies involving space, directors tend to grab one of those words and stick to it, like a multiple choice question with one answer.
In the case of movie director duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, however, they decided to choose all of the above.
Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up in a place he does not recognize. Wandering around, he discovers that he is the last person alive on a space shuttle set on a course for a distant solar system’s star.
While he pieces together his memories to figure out why he has been sent on this mission, he comes across an alien he dubs Rocky. Dr. Grace is forced to learn to communicate and work with Rocky to figure out the problem plaguing both of their worlds: Why is this star not dying while their separate stars are, and what can they do to fix their situations?
This movie has many different themes floating around in it, but its main idea is trust.
Dr. Grace had to learn to trust Rocky, especially after he had lost his trust in the people back home. He had even lost trust in himself, being very not confident in his ability to pilot the ship.
Gosling was a perfect pick for the main character. I have to admit, I tend to forget that he exists, but then he has one of these amazing roles that drags him back to center stage in my head.
His awkwardness really sells the fact that Dr. Grace is out of his element; he was a school teacher, not an astronaut trying to save his planet.
The voice of Rocky (James Ortiz) was also a stellar performance. This is odd to say, as Rocky was an alien given a translator by Dr. Grace to help understand exactly what he is saying, but it was incredible to listen to.
Despite being forced to speak in a robotic manner, Ortiz is easily capable of delivering an impactful performance; the curiosity and energy of Rocky is not lost in literal translation.
The interactions between Rocky and Dr. Grace was stellar as well. They did not always get along, which was refreshing to see.
Sometimes one knew things the other did not, their eating habits grossed each other out, even their cultural differences had a role in their interactions. Because of this, all of their interactions felt natural.
This movie made me feel an insane amount of happiness and hope. Despite such a grim situation, Dr. Grace and Rocky managed to find shared interests, and were able to interact in ways that people should be able to do with each other today.
Sharing cultural differences and habits, while possibly being uncomfortable at first, should lead to understanding and unity like them; if an alien and a human can do this, why not two humans?
Not only this, but it also showed that people can still be selfless in dark situations. Rocky wanted to help Grace, and vice versa.
This movie was an amazing experience for me. There was much more than just beautiful cinematography, the story and message was beautiful. I rate this movie a solid 10/10. It was, as Rocky states, “Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!”
