Skip to main content

'Stowaway' (12)



Director: Joe Penna

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, Toni Collette 

Where can I watch?: Stowaway is streaming on Netflix

Rating: 3/5

Review: Your Philosophy and Ethics classes get a spacey update in Joe Penna's tale of three Mars-bound astronauts who discover a fourth person concealed on their vessel, sapping their precious oxygen supply. It's hardly an original premise, but Stowaway offers plenty of initial promise, something of a searching character study into three individuals who felt compelled to leave their families behind and spend two years on a mission through the stars. Unfortunately, few of these expectations are ever realised, and Penna's film begins to struggle under its lack of conviction very quickly. There are plenty of themes that are touched on briefly and then dismissed; the faint crackle of remote voices from Earth appears to symbolise both the astronauts' isolation and their disconnect from society, and yet little comes from it. Commander Barnett (Toni Collette) is depicted as a skilled, level-headed leader in the opening sections, but soon crumbles into a tearful, incapable wreck without explanation - has she stared too long into the void? There is mention of this being her third mission, but it's never explored. The fact is, Stowaway was well-placed to tackle some bigger, more profound issues than it ever has the guts to study; it's a shame because the understated approach, the lack of aliens and a small set of characters makes renders it prime for unpicking some of those thought-provoking, philosophical questions. Having said that, I was kept guessing as to exactly what would happen in the final act, but even then the film fails to stick the landing in a truly emotive way. 

A Must-Watch?: Stowaway has the potential to be something really quite different, but it never quite lives up to its initial promise. Although bigger themes are touched upon, they are never fully realised, resulting in a rather unfulfilling space outing that's all surface and no substance. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Mary Queen of Scots' (15)

**** Arriving on the shores of Scotland, Mary Stuart moves to reclaim her title and her position as Queen. A Catholic and with a claim to the throne of England, she immediately poses a threat to Queen Elizabeth, a Protestant and the last of the House of Tudor.  The relationship between Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor is one that has fascinated historians and artists alike for centuries. In a history that's dominated by male sovereigns, Mary and Elizabeth ruled alongside each other until Elizabeth had her cousin executed - surely that means that the two hated each other? In his play which premiered in 1800, Friedrich Schiller portrays Mary's last days, and the fraught relationship between the two women - one that is far from the 'black and white' dynamic that you might expect. Since then, numerous historians have revisited this momentous moment and dissected the connection between the two. One such biography is John Guy's Queen of Scots: The True Life ...
1 comment
Read more

COVID-19 Special: 'The White Tiger' (15)

Director:  Ramin Bahrani Cast:  Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jones Where can I watch?:   The White Tiger is streaming on Netflix .  Rating:  4/5 Review: Aravind Adiga's novel The White Tiger rocketed into the international bestseller lists when it was published in 2008. A darkly satirical study of Indian's caste system, the Man Booker Prize winner tackled everything from class to corruption, religion to rooster coops. It's perhaps strange, considering the novel's success, that it took so long for The White Tiger to be adapted into a film, but as director Ramin Bahrain shows, it was probably worth the wait. Taking on the central role of servant Balram is Adarsh Gourav: a mercurial screen presence, Gourav guides us through Balram's development from wide-eyed, eager driver to disillusioned servant and beyond with a deft, dependable hand. Balram's evolution from start to finish is entirely believable and, more importantly, wholly watchable - it'...
1 comment
Read more

'Eternals' (12A)

Director: Chloé Zhao   Cast:  Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie Where can I watch?:   Eternals  is in cinemas and available to stream on Disney+ Rating:  2.5/5 Review: When watching a Marvel film, you must suspend some level of disbelief to fully enjoy it. However, Eternals really does push the boat too far. I'm all for a bit of fantasy and a splash of sci-fi, but I found myself drawing the line at big red robot things floating around in space - and I'm not even going to try to explain (or remember!) everything else that was revealed during this strangely boring, yet rather beautiful, superhero experience. Chloé Zhao, fresh from her Best Director win, helms the 26th film (yes, really) in the Marvel franchise, but she fails to make any sort of impact. At times, it feels as though we're veering towards something of a character study, but unfortunately all the characters are painfully shallow and one-dimensional, making the 'intimate' tal...
Post a Comment
Read more