No. I’m not writing about Buzz Lightyear.
I saw Interstellar last weekend. For the most part, I enjoyed this family-friendly movie in which the logic of science and the power of love intersect.
With all the talk about wormholes, black holes, relativity, and tesseracts, the film never talks down to anyone. It’s challenging, confounding, and tugs at the heartstrings without becoming maudlin. While the film showcases some pretty amazing cinematography, at its heart, Interstellar is an intimate father/daughter story with the fate of humanity at stake. Two women play central roles as brilliant scientists, and the guys aren’t half-bad either. How cool is that?
What I especially loved about the film is that the young daughter of our intrepid hero (played by Matthew McConaughey) is the catalyst who spurs her father to action. She’s convinced a ghost is haunting her bedroom. Her father at first rebuffs her, but she’s persistent, convincing, and passionate. Eventually he tells her to document her experience. To act like a “real scientist.” Her discovery and how that connects to her father’s intergalactic journey add a human dimension to a movie heavy on science and technology.
NASA / Dana Berry / SkyWorks Digital
I’ve read that the director and screenwriter took great pains to get the science right. I’m not going to pretend I understand all the science, so I’ll leave the debates about what was right and wrong to people who do. I’m pretty sure some of the speculative stuff was a cross between mumbo-jumbo and voodoo.
That’s okay. Ultimately what engaged me was the story of Murphy, who sets out on her journey to become a scientist because her father takes her seriously. She doesn’t take his first no as his final answer.
Has anyone’s faith in you ever spurred you to face a challenge?
Have you seen Interstellar? What do you think? Does the razzle-dazzle help you ignore the plot holes? Does the intergalactic adventure upstage the inner journey?