'Interstellar' takes audience to new heights

By ALISON THOET

Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” is a fantastic and symbolic stretch of the imagination into space in an effort to save the human race from a starved and depleted Earth.

Fighting against the tyranny of authority, the questions of science and the virtual unknown of wider space, Cooper, played by a heart-wrenching Matthew McConaughey leaves his children to travel through wormholes and unknown planets.

The film is not only an expedition into the future of mankind, but of human nature, particularly family, kindness and the will to survive.

Cooper leaves behind his daughter Murph, short for Murphy’s Law, a scientific law that according to Cooper, means anything that can happen will happen. Mackenzie Foy has escaped the bounds of “The Twilight Saga” with her stunning performance as the unbelievably smart daughter of a man who believes his journey is to leave his home planet.

The expedition is complete with Anne Hathaway as Dr. Brand, daughter of Professor Brand (Michael Caine), the brains of the operation to save the human species. Two years in hyper sleep, then through the wormhole, Cooper and Brand journey to two different planets with various mishaps, robots and even a run-in with Dr. Mann, played by Matt Damon.

The visual affects are astounding in this film, though the visceral affects felt by the audience at the phenomenal actor performances is out of this world in themselves.

McConaughey’s portrayal of a father to children that grow up quite literally on a different planet is hard to see at times. Jessica Chastain as the older Murph forces tears from her father as payment for his non-kept promises.

Murph finally figures out the real truth of the expedition and an array of problems ensue for Cooper’s team.

For fear of spoilers, all that can be said is this film reaches another dimension with its plot, writing, cinematography and acting. Nolan has created an astonishing film that makes viewers think simply for its vastness, and more widely for its possibility. It is a film that posits many questions, most of all: what do humans do in the face of extinction?