Reflections
on “Ad Astra” (2019)
Directed
by James Gray
Script
by James Gray and Ethan Gross
Starring
Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland
“Ad Astra” is a tale of
ambition, science, faith, the existential impact of our actions on others,
family and compassion, and how the pursuit of ambition and achievement may
cause conflict and may require us to prioritise and make choices, sometimes at
the expense of humanity. It also begs questions about whether mankind is really
ready for and capable of advanced space exploration.
The film may be viewed as
a psychological and existential thriller in the guise of a science-fiction film
whose story is almost told in the first-person singular as everything is
recounted from the point of view of main character Roy McBride. Indeed, the
style and spirit of the piece rather suggest that Roy is sharing his memories
with us as he provides a voice-over and his occasional narration contains
reflections, wisdom and lessons learned. There are some jumps in time so he may
be sharing selected memories as one does when giving autobiographical accounts,
and there is little or no external input – we are dependent on Roy and his
perceptions for our tale.
At the start, Roy is
focused, calm and devoted to his mission, almost to the point of being robotic.
He is emotionally detached but professionally engaged and this has had a
negative impact on his personal life and especially his marriage. His work and
his job are the most important things to him. His feelings and emotions are
held in check to allow him to focus on the job in hand. He has devoted his life
to the expansion of scientific knowledge and to being an astronaut or space
pioneer like his father before him.
His father, Clifford
McBride, is a renowned scientist and space explorer who abandoned his family to
extend the limits of experience and knowledge in outer space. Although Clifford
is presented as a heroic, ground-breaking figure, his abandonment of his family
has had a profound but deeply buried effect on Roy and his life, career and
professionalism, but also, and perhaps more importantly, on Roy’s inability to
develop and maintain relationships and come to terms with emotion.
As for Clifford, he was
able to cast aside his familial responsibilities with remarkable ease to focus
on what he perceives as a far greater scientific task and responsibility,
though this single-minded lack of consideration will eventually lead to conflict
and confrontation…
Clifford had total belief in the purpose and righteousness of his mission, the Lima Project, to seek signs of life elsewhere in the universe. Indeed, his conviction in the sanctity of his work appears to have transformed into faith as scientific evidence mounts that there is no life to be found, but Clifford holds on to his purpose-giving conviction and at one point declares he is doing God’s work.
However, his co-workers
do not share the depth of his conviction and, after considerable physical
hardship and disillusion based on experience and disappointment, they wish to
abandon their mission and return home. When faced with Clifford’s stony refusal
to accept both their scientific findings and their desire to head for home,
they mutiny. Clifford’s desire to find extraterrestrial life has become his
purpose and the driving force in his life and, forsaking whatever humanity
remains to him, he kills his fellow crew members because they threaten the
sanctity of his mission.
Shortly after this event,
due to damage incurred in the mutiny, surges of anti-matter start to emanate
from the ship and they threaten all life in the solar system. These surges may
also be interpreted as a threat in terms of loss of hope and faith, loss of
hope in finding intelligent life, but also, perhaps, loss of faith in man’s
purpose and even the very existence of God. Clifford felt he was doing God’s
work and failure may cause him (and others) to consider the possibility we are
entirely alone in the universe, and such thoughts may lead to despair and
social breakdown.
The authorities are aware
of the mutiny and the situation concerning the Lima Project, and they wish to
terminate Clifford and the anti-matter surges or threats to social order and
welfare. However, they do not know Clifford’s exact whereabouts and they concoct
a plan to send his son Roy on a rescue mission, hoping Clifford will respond to
his son’s messages and therefore reveal his position.
The authorities have, of
course, built Clifford into an iconic hero and have lied to and manipulated Roy
to gain his co-operation. The truth would indicate failure and they need to
maintain a façade or image of heroism and devotion to duty in order to maintain
their own positions and protect the righteousness of their enterprise and
public confidence in it. They are guilty of underhand and dishonest
manipulation of Roy (and the rest of humanity, come to that), exploiting
emotional attachment while encouraging emotional detachment, which reduces
chances of dissent or challenge, to serve their purpose.
Roy is on the way to
becoming his father. He is calm and detached, and has learned to follow orders
and set aside emotional complications. However, his mission to find his father
will rekindle feelings, emotions and resentment. He may even rediscover the
value of reflection, humanity and compassion on his journey.
His journey to the
outskirts of the solar system (and, we might say, to the depths of his soul),
begins with a trip to the moon.
The point of establishing
a facility on the moon (in keeping with the purpose of space exploration in
general) is to start afresh and to improve life, but those in command have
created a facsimile of Earth and have imported man-made mistakes and flaws,
encapsulated by moon pirates setting out to capture or steal resources,
suggesting problems lie in human nature and they will not be easily solved
through space exploration.
This point is further
demonstrated when Roy and his crew respond to a mayday on their way to Mars.
They dock with a vehicle which is presumably a base for conducting biological
experiments, illustrating man’s desire to manipulate and control nature and his
surroundings. However, ego and ambition have outstripped man’s knowledge and
capacities and the experiment has gone badly wrong, resulting in violence and
death.
The ropey landing on Mars
further demonstrates the potential consequences of our human failings and the
need and value of keeping a cool, focused head. We are all fragile and
vulnerable and the captain of the ship concedes to fear, emotion and circumstance
but Roy applies his training and lands the ship safely. Roy may be experiencing
doubt about his life and his past but he will not simply indulge emotion. A
balance is to be maintained, tempering emotion with self-control or discipline
in order to make progress.
On Mars, Roy grapples
with emotions, feelings and bitterness that he has buried for years. The whole
purpose of this mission has brought to the fore challenging thoughts and
memories that he has concealed from himself most of his adult life. He now
wants to find his father in order to gain closure – be that in the shape of
confrontation or simply to be able to forget him. This is no longer just a
military operation to find and aid a fellow space explorer, but a personal
quest to seek and confront a failed father who put work and ambition above
family and responsibility.
The authorities show
something of their true colours and purpose and decide to remove Roy from the
mission now that he has served his purpose and they have been able to ascertain
Clifford’s whereabouts, causing Roy to question the purpose and validity not
just of his mission but of his place in the grand scheme of things.
A colleague on Mars,
Helen Lantos, reveals the truth about Clifford’s actions on the Lima Project to
Roy. Her parents were among those killed by Clifford and she seems to think Roy
shares some kind of responsibility as Clifford’s son, if only to face his
father and learn the truth. Once again, the impact of one person’s actions on
many, and in many ways, is emphasised.
Roy appears to agree with
her and he sets off to stow away on the vehicle about to take off in pursuit of
his father. His presence is detected immediately and the crew treats his
presence as hostile to their mission and their lives, so set out to eliminate
him. This leads to something of an existential conundrum as Roy insists he is
no threat but his action, in climbing aboard, leads to violence and death,
eventually leaving Roy alone on the ship to find Clifford. He expresses
profound regret for the crew’s fate but he concentrates on the task at hand,
putting regret and emotion to one side in order to fulfil his mission. He may
be motivated by emotion but he can contain it and act coldly and rationally to
achieve his objective.
En route to Saturn and
Clifford’s ship, Roy reflects further on his father and his wife, Eve,
rediscovering and appreciating the importance of humanity and love.
When Roy eventually finds
Clifford, there is something of a showdown in which the painful truth is
revealed. Clifford did indeed kill his co-workers because his work was
all-important and his sole source of fulfilment. He was devoted to his cause
and because his co-workers threatened it, they had to be eliminated. This was a
purely logical decision based on the sanctity of his mission, as he saw it,
with no room for humanity, compassion or sympathy.
As for his family, they
were rejected with ease and with no regret or second thought. Clifford has
rejected humanity to devote himself to the pursuit of knowledge and as such
serves as a warning to Roy and, indeed, all humanity.
In response to Clifford’s
confession, Roy tells his father he still loves him. Roy has made a choice. He
has learned to appreciate humanity and compassion, and will put that above the
cold and perhaps empty pursuit of knowledge.
Humanity was not enough
for Clifford. He sought higher purpose and validation. Thus, when Clifford
failed to find extraterrestrial life, he lost faith, God and himself.
Roy studies Clifford’s
research and concludes we are alone, but he determines that we can and should
make the best of it and build on what is available to us, primarily by
appreciating relationships and compassion, but also, perhaps, by learning from
mistakes, keeping a cool head and developing possibilities of evolution on
other worlds.
Roy is a better man for
his experiences and what he has learned from them, and this is encapsulated in
receiving and accepting a helping hand as he sets foot once again on Earth. He
also displays a renewed desire to build a relationship with his wife.
It is notable that, like
his father, Roy is treated as a hero on his return. Doubtless the authorities
will have concocted a positive tale around his exploits which will avoid
mention of negative aspects of his actions.
I found this film dark,
contemplative and thought-provoking, with excellent performances from all
concerned and brisk, engaging direction that was effective in both action
sequences and more intimate and brooding scenes.
My thanks for taking the
time to read this article. I hope you found it of some value.
Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk)
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