Some People Call Me the Space Cowboy

By Tom Pacak

The title of “Ad Astra” is Latin for “through hardships to the stars.” This phrase suggests that through perseverance, we can eventually reach for greatness if we continue the path we’re on. “Ad Astra” is a fitting title for a great film about searching for the meaning of life, father and son relationships, being lost in space, reality vs. fiction, and even moon pirates. As cliché as it sounds; James Gray’s “Ad Astra” is a film I needed to watch right now for personal reasons. Searching for the meaning of life at twenty-three can be very difficult. When your little, your parents take you to church to help build your foundations on God but some people break away from their parent's philosophy to form their own. That search can be very difficult and at times frustrating. Many top critics have described watching “Ad Astra” as a religious experience. For me, it was more spiritual. The film doesn’t explore how God was created but instead goes into how an absent God is important for finding a purpose in life. The film questioned my personal beliefs on the importance of family and God.

Brad Pitt gives one of his best performances playing Roy McBride a super cool but reflective astronaut who is sent on an “Apocalypse Now” style mission to find his missing father H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones). Roy believes his father is dead after staying in space for years working on the Lima project, a space mission to find other forms of human life. The U.S. Space Command believes differently. They believe the recent power surges on the solar system that killed thousands of people have been caused by Clifford trying to send a signal. The command believes that Roy is the only one who can establish communication with him due to her fragile father/son relationship.

This is the first religious metaphor James Gray injects in the film trying to show the audience an unseen God wrecking havoc on a planet. While on Mars, Roy is forced to speak into a recording system to send messages (a metaphor for prayer) to the Lima project, in order to get a response from his dad. Almost all Sci-Fi films are about one person’s journey to find the meaning of life. “Ad Astra” is about how a person must find the man who created him and come to terms that he may someday become the man who created him. 

“Ad Astra” is a film that’s smarter than most blockbuster space movies ‘Gravity” or “The Martian” but also very thought-provoking like Kubrick’s “2001: a Space Odyssey” and Nolan’s “Interstellar” (another film dealing with father/child relationships). What I really love about this film is how James Gray was able to make both a personal film about the father’s bond for his son and make a great blockbuster. Yes, the film is deep on a philosophical level but it’s also amazing on an entertainment level. Underneath the philosophical questions, we get chase scenes with space pirates, cool visual effects, and even some space monkeys show up to screw up Roy’s plans to find his father. Another thing I found very fascinating about “Ad Astra” is how James Gray depicts space and society. James Gray is able to add several interesting details about space that add up to the theme’s story. The Moon of all places is shown as some sort of tourist attraction where there are restaurants and homes people can divulge themselves in.

With “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and now “Ad Astra,” 2019 is proof that this may be the year for Brad Pitt. I’ve always believed that Brad Pitt’s overall image has been the pretty boy from Missouri, but damn he is an underrated and great actor. Pitt’s performance in “Ad Astra” is something I’ve never seen the actor do before. This is also one of his only performances where he’s not shoving food in his mouth (that’s his signature trademark). Here, Brad Pitt is able to show through various close-ups and philosophical narration of the perfect man on a mission from God who also happens to be very human. He talks in his psychological evaluations about how he doesn’t really know his father and blames him for his anger issues but still wants the chance to talk with him. Roy has been in an absent husband to his wife (the underused Liv Tiver) but he also stills loves her. Roy’s other encounters with the Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga characters also show just how human his response is when they tell him good and bad stories about his father. People die in this movie; some deaths are caused by Roy’s desire to do the right thing. These deaths and close encounters with fate are supposed to make Roy’s journey more meaningful. "Ad Astra" wants to show that Roy will go through a lot of hardships, but the search for life and the meaning of our existence will be very rewarding.

Rating: 5 out of 5 

Grade: A+