A Reel Preview: Everything You Need to Know About AD ASTRA

For most of this year, AD ASTRA has been flying in low orbit; underneath the radar of most film critics and cinephiles. But after a strong showing on the festival circuit, the film has rocketed into everyone’s sights, and has become one of the leaders in the early Oscar Season. Here is everything you need to know in this preview of AD ASTRA. 

What is this about? – Astronaut Roy McBride travels to the edge of the Solar System to find his missing father, whose experiments are threatening the Earth. 

Who is in front of the camera? – McBride is played by Brad Pitt, who is appearing in his second high-profile film this year…with the first being Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. His father is being played by Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones. The cast also includes Ruth Negga, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in LOVING (2016), along with Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Kennedy, and John Ortiz. 

Who is behind the camera? – AD ASTRA is directed by James Gray, who so far has brought us THE LOST CITY OF Z (2016), THE IMMIGRANT (2013), and WE OWN THE NIGHT (2007). Gray co-wrote the screenplay with television writer Ethan Gross, who worked for three seasons on TV’s FRINGE as executive story editor and writer. 

Random Facts – The term AD ASTRA is a Latin phrase meaning “to the stars” *James Gray has promised the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s ever been done in film *The movie reunites Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones, who appeared together in another space-movie, SPACE COWBOYS (2000) * The storyline draws heavy inspiration from Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, which was also the basis for Francis Ford Coppola’s APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) *The score is composed by Max Richter, whose film credits include MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018), and HOSTILES (2017) *AD ASTRA is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 124 minutes * 

What to expect – Starting with the director, James Gray has a track-record that’s been good, but not quite great. His films have earned reviews that fall just short of greatness, but far from terrible…and it could be possible that he is ready to take that giant leap into the upper-stratosphere of filmmaking. And having a writer from one of TV’s most successful sci-fi shows is also encouraging. In front of the camera, Brad Pitt has somehow become one of Hollywood’s elder statesman; earning the privilege of hand-picking films carefully which promise not to be throwaways. We can expect a great performance from him, along with his castmates.  The inspiration from Heart of Darkness is fascinating, and the strong reactions from the festival circuit hint towards something special. It’s been a while since we have seen a truly great film set in space with real-life star-voyagers, and it is possible that one is about to land. 

*

AD ASTRA opens wide September 20^th.