SLINGSHOT
(director: Mikael Håfström; screenwriters: R. Scott Adams, Nathan Parker; cinematographer: Pär M. Ekberg; editor: Rickard Krantz; music: Steffen Thum; cast: Casey Affleck (John), Laurence Fishburne (Captain Franks), Tomer Capone (Nash), Emily Beecham (Zoe), David Morrisey (Sam Napier); Runtime: 109; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Richard Saperstein, István Major, Beau Turpin; Bleecker Street; 2024-Hungary/Indonesia/USA-in English)
“A flawed psychological space thriller set in the near-future.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Swedish director Mikael Håfström (“1408″/”The Rite”) and writers R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker present a flawed psychological space thriller set in the near-future. Its claustrophobic setting and long silences, set almost entirely inside of a spacecraft, are deeply disturbing.
Three astronauts are on their first mission to Triton, the largest moon on Saturn, that will take years. They will collect liquid samples on Triton to see if they can save the Earth from global warming. Astronaut John (Casey Affleck) wakes up from his month long sleep (drugged to go to sleep) aboard the Odyssey-1. He’s traveling through deep space accompanied by the stern Captain Franks (Laurence Fishburne) and the engineer Nash (Tomer Capone).
On awakening, John keeps seeing and hearing the voice of Zoe (Emily Beecham), a NASA engineer he fell for prior to his journey.
A panel on the ship mysteriously comes loose, hitting John on the head, making him dizzy, as a mysterious object not determined causes severe damage to the hull. The alarmed Nash thinks the ship has been compromised and won’t survive the slingshot maneuver around Jupiter needed to complete the mission.
In a panic, John insists he wants to head home but can’t convince Captain Franks to do so.
As the voyage continues on, reality becomes blurred.
The humanistic first-half gives way to a second half that introduces some weird plot twists that seem out of place.
The psychological sci-fi pic resounds as a character study of John, who is conflicted over resolving his romance and a desire to explore space. Nothing gets resolved, but Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne turn in good performances.
REVIEWED ON 9/23/2024 GRADE: C+
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