Nolan’s Anthology — Part 9: Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is a masterpiece.

There, I said it.

It’s not perfect, but it is a remarkable and deeply meaningful achievement.

Interstellar is a wholly secular story, and yet, it’s a film filled with images that are sacred and holy. Let me speak about it as a film first.

I believe the only comparative piece to this story is Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and towards the end of Interstellar there is a shot that pays homage to Kubrick’s infamous conclusion (when McConaughey is floating and all we see is the crest of his helmet); but in the scope of cinematic history these two films are masterpieces for completely different reasons.

Intersteller is rooted in a present-future, a world we can easily imagine. Though the explanations are intentionally sparse, what we know is we’ve devastated the planet beyond repair. We must search the galaxies for a new home. I think the sparse exposition and pace of the first act is incredibly effective. As an audience, we don’t need to know everything about how we got here because here is not where the story is headed, it’s towards the heavens to which we journey.

Over the course of the first act it’s made clear just what sort of worldview we’re following. Around the dinner table there’s talk…