‘Ad Astra’ is beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted

BY Ron and Leigh

“Ad Astra” is Latin for “To the Stars.” It is a space movie, but not much like “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” or even “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This is a character study of an astronaut with “daddy issues” on a mission to save the universe. It is on the outer edges of our solar system that the spaceman delves into his own inner space to save himself.

Directed and co-written by James Gray (“Lost City of Z”), the story is set in the near future. Love it or hate it, it is beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted. Brad Pitt is joined by Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland (“Space Cowboys”) and an ensemble supporting cast, but this is really a one-man show for the talented actor at his peak.

Earlier this year, Pitt starred in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” where his spirited character was a hotshot ready-fire-aim stuntman. Here, his rocketeer is a particularly composed and even dispassionate technician, “We go to work, we do our job, we go home.” It’s not just that Roy McBride controls his emotions in dangerous situations; he is deeply introspective, questioning his relationships with himself and his family.

Specifically, Roy must undertake a covert mission across an unforgiving solar system and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. To go to his launch point on the moon, he is asked to fly commercial. In the near future, that will be done quite regularly, but the cost will still be a little higher out of Ontario.

It has been explained to Roy that the disturbance is being generated from Neptune, where Roy’s gallant father, H. Clifford McBride (Jones) led a doomed expedition there 30 years earlier and was never heard from again. Now, Roy must find a way to uncover what really happened to his father, what is threatening the universe and how to stop it.

As he travels from Earth to the Moon to Mars and to the outer edge of the solar system, there are several space action scenes that keep the storyline moving, which are fascinating, even if this is not an action flick per se. Mostly, Roy is wondering if his heroic father is possibly still alive and if the personal sacrifice for the mission was worth it.

If the disturbance in the force is coming from Neptune, was that what killed his father? Or, is his father still alive? If so, is the situation caused by his father’s mission? As Roy recalls how easily his father left his wife and child for perilous space exploration, Roy asks, “I wonder if what happened broke him or if he was broken already.”

Roy remembers that he always wanted to be an astronaut, mostly because of his dad. However, as he continues on his journey, he ponders, “it worries me now that I don’t want to be my dad.” Later, he continues, “I don’t know if I hope to find him or hope to be free of him.” Mostly, he knows he should not speculate, but focus on his mission.

Not everyone can, will or should identify with the pain, anger and hurt that Roy shares during this personally cathartic mission. We wonder how many in the audience can identify with such a renowned professional being so conflicted as to meditate about Daddy-dearest, “I never really knew you, or am I you?” Then resigning himself to the conclusion, “In the end, the son suffers the sins of the father.”

“Ad Astra” is 122 minutes and rated PG-13 for violence, bloody images and brief strong language. Not the typical space epic, this personal thriller is unbound by Hollywood’s gravitational pull. Pitt totally immerses himself into this haunting, stylish and ambitious fear of the unknown. The thought-provoking drama deliberately narrows its audience, so it’s only one small step for man, and yet one giant leap for mankind.

It doesn’t seem fair that so many journey to what seems to be the edge of the universe to find themselves. Then again, others careen in every direction for what seems an eternity and never do. This begs the question, “If they can put a man on the moon, why can’t they fix our most intimate relationships?”

Ron’s Rating: A-
Leigh’s Rating: C+