SPACEMAN

The earths sky has been polluted by a mystifying interstellar cloud. Citizens are concerned and scientists baffled by its appearance. 

Sent to investigate this phenomenon astronaut Jakub Procházka (Adam Sandler) is 139 days into his solo mission to the centre of the cloud when his solitude is interrupted by an inexplicable spider-like creature (Paul Dano), who Jakub names Hanuš.

Most of this, however, is largely irrelevant, as Spacemans sci-fi trappings are an artifice for a deep diving character piece in Jakubs soul, past, and family life.

For much of its runtime Spaceman ignores the cloud and the mission. Its focus clearly elsewhere. And by the time its resolution was revealed I - and apparently the creative team behind it - had all but lost interest.

Which would have been fine if I had cared enough about the character that we were delving into, but I didn’t. 

And this is nothing to do with the portrayal - Sandler is excellent, giving one of his most muted and mature performances yet - but everything around him is paced so slowly it never managed to fully engage me emotionally.

And this is the films biggest problem. 

The cast are great - Paul Danos voice has an ethereal quality that makes him the perfect casting for Hanuš - it looks fantastic, and the score is hauntingly beautiful, but I was never emotionally invested in anything that was happening.

Why did Jakub leave is wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan) to come on this trip? I didn’t really care. What about his past made him the way he is? I wasn’t interested. Is Hanuš real, or a hallucinogenic manifestation of Jakubs guilt and grief? Honestly, it doesn’t matter.

None of it hooked me. 

It floats along to its conclusion without any sense of urgency, and an inflated sense of its own self-importance.

A film far more interested in the questions it poses, than it is in there answers.

I really wish I’d like Spaceman more than I did. If only for the excellent performance put in by Adam Sandler. A performance which may have been talked about for next years awards season had the film itself been better.

But as it is it can’t help but feel like a disappointment. A film where all the building blocks were there, but with a vacuum where the soul should be.

In space no one can hear you scream. But with Spaceman the frustration of this missed opportunity might make you want to.