MOVIE - SOLARIS - Review Rating $$$$$ $$$ (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - George Clooney (Chris Kelvin), Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis & Ulrich Tukur.
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER - Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Sex Lies and Videotape, Out of Sight, The Limey, Ocean's 11 and Full Frontal)
A remake of the 1972 film, by the same name, directed by Russian Andrei Tarkovsky.
A stylish examination of the underpinnings of existence in the tradition of A Space Odyssey.
Solaris no doubt had Fox's promotional department reaching for extra doses of Maalox. How do you promote a movie that is part love story and part sci-fi adventure but actually about something else altogether? Solaris, based on the novel by Stanislaw Lem, is that rare movie that challenges the viewer to contemplate the very nature of our existence. A hard concept to convey in typical movie promotional material.
Solaris, in telling its story, violates most accepted movie conventions. The pace, which is deliberately moderate, reflects the rate at which Clooney's character is able to absorb and process the circumstances he finds himself in. As the story unfolds the intensity builds but without the expected payoff. Solaris relishes its self-imposed obfuscation. Its only intention is to provoke thought not resolve age old debates. It is this ambiguity that will repel some and enthrall others. Indeed, several audience members walked out halfway through the screening I watched. If you expect the loose ends to tied up neatly, or the earth to be saved in a blaze of glory, Solaris is not for you. Solaris refuses to tell you what to think but asks that you do.
Along the way we are treated to excellent performances by the entire cast. Clooney successfully transverses the difficult terrain of a character, grounded in science, confronting his beliefs and succumbing to his heart. Natascha McElhone also successfully portrays a character that at one moment has a convoluted past and the next is a mere empty vassal begot from the remnants of memory.
All this occurs in the wondrous vacuum of space. The orbiting space station floating above the translucent planet Solaris is a perfect photographic metaphor for competing scientific and mystical explanations of existence. The suggestion that neither school of thought is adequate is even more food for thought.
Solaris is a wondrous journey I recommend you consider taking.
Alternative Reviews:
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~dkasman/reviews/solaris.html
http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-solar27f.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/review.asp?mid=2045361
Official Website:
http://www.solaristhemovie.com/
MY TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2002 LIST
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2003
David Schwartz.
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