SUNSHINE
***1/2
R for violent content and language.
1 hr. 47 min.
written by: Alex Garland
produced by: Andrew McDonald
directed by: Danny Boyle
This past Monday I was able to catch a screening of
Danny Boyle's new film called "Sunshine", a sorta surreal, intense sci-fi film. I'm always up for a free movie and try to jump on any opportunity than comes along to get to see one. I saw that a local online reviewer (who goes by the name "Capone") was giving away passes to this screening that also had a Q&A with director
Danny Boyle after the viewing! All I had to do was e-mail him and let him know why I wanted to go. No problem. The next day I received a confirmation e-mail that stated myself and a friend of my choosing were in! Yes! After checking around to see who could go, I wound up meeting my movie maven pal, Paulette. She's an actress and writer whom I work with (fun work not "work" work) and whenever she or myself get in on movie screenings, we always like to give each other a heads up.
The screening started at 7:30pm but I know from experience to get there no later than 6:30pm. With Monday being my first of many Super Daddy Nanny Days, I knew I had to get everything in line in order for me to make the movie. After Grace and I picked up my wife from work, I dropped myself off at the Landmark Theatre near Clark & Diversey and off they went. Paulette was already in the theatre reserving seats by 6:30pm. Yay, I made it! What I'll do is review the movie and then talk about the Q&A....
Movie:
Fifty years from now, the sun is dying, therefore mankind is dying with it. It's basically winter everywhere on Earth and although inhabitable, not the best situation. Our last hope is a spaceship called Icarus II, carrying a crew of eight men and women, all of them either astronauts, doctors or scientists with qualified specialties. They carry with them a device attached to their ship designed to breathe new life into our star, they call it "the payload". But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. They come into contact with a distress signal....from Icarus I. A spaceship that was sent out seven years ago for the same purpose but that crew was never heard from again. Decisions need to be made, possible life-threatening and mission-altering decisions. They've already been together for sixteen months and now their sanity is tested as they come closer to the sun and closer to the realization that mankind's fate is in their hands.
After these decisions are made, the crew has to deal with the repercussions of their choices. Under extreme pressure and pushed to their limits they face an accident and eventually fatal mistakes. It's now obvious the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity. These aren't heroes, simply gifted and courageous people thrust into extraordinary situations. Boyle is aware that one of the sci-fi conventions of a story like this is that the crew will be eliminated one by one. That's a given and it goes without saying. Still, he builds their characters well enough and displays their humanity and camaraderie equally through scenes of bonding, tensions and video diaries back to Earth. They are not only interesting characters but they are played by a well-chosen cast.
Captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada) is steadfast and leads quietly by example. He looks at a dilemma calmly and searches for solutions. He is also obsessed with the failure of Icarus I. Second-in-command is Communications Officer Harvey (Troy Garrity) who is anxious yet thorough under pressure. He designed the ships communications systems. He is an all-round astronaut capable of performing most duties. Biologist Corazon (Michelle Yeoh) or "Cory" maintains the oxygen garden and grows vegetables for food. Trey (Benedict Wong) is the navigator of the ship, a child genius, Trey became part of the Pan-Asian space program after creating a computer virus that wiped out twelve percent of the world's computers. His job is to calculate the trajectory of the Icarus II. Psych Officer Searle (Cliff Curtis) is interested in the psychological effects of deep-space travel to the point of near obsession. Searle ensures the crew remain physically and mentally healthy over the course of their three year mission. The ship is piloted by Cassie (Rose Byrne), formerly with the U.S. Air Force. Maintaining the circuitry mapping and mechanics running the ship's computer is Mace (Chris Evans) and engineer with a mindset solely on the mission. Finally, the man responsible for manning "the payload", physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy), foremost in his field with the goal to maintain the dark matter bomb and activate it when necessary. No pressure. 
It didn't take me long to take interest in a movie with this plot directed by this director. After all, "Millions" was probably one of the best films of the past decade in my opinion. I also enjoyed his take on the zombie genre in "28 Days Later". So, when I heard that Boyle was making a sci-fi flick, I was watching for development on it. Sure enough, from the captivating opening minutes that pitch-perfectly set the tone, I was falling in love with this movie. The ethereal electronica-like score by Underworld was right away-a perfect match. The film really does have some wonderful sequences and a number of nerve-rackingly tense scenes. Boyle, his effects team and cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler create some beautiful and exciting, coming up with some really incredible images. Basically, they purposefully and excellently make the sun itself out to be one of the main characters of the film. The production design also did a pretty amazing job forming the spaceship interiors and the desolation of the bomb itself. It's not an easy thing to make a sci-fi film look original, so many have come before with all kinds of different designs but this film certainly had a unique look. I noticed as well that the sound and the editing stood out as well. During the scenes of the sun it felt like the giant star had it's own howling voice.
I only had some minor problems with the film and then was with Alex Garland's script. I had with it arise from parts of the script and the editing. There's quite a bit for a writer to tackle here and overall he does a good job except for a question I had about the captain of Icarus I. I'm not gonna go into it but Paulette and I had the same question, so if you wind up seeing the film, talk to me. Still, there are some excellent scenes, ideas and themes executed and attempted. Some may feel that the second half may suffer from too many action conventions but it all seems logical to me. Then again I'm no scientist or astronaut. Usually it bothers me when action scenes are shot either too close up or kinetically fast, but for some reason in this environment it only added to the heightened peril. Out of all the actors I was most excited to see Curtis and Yeoh and it woulda been nice to see them given more. It doesn't really matter to me what movie these two are in, I always wind finding them to be the most interesting part of the movie. Evans is given much criticism for always playing the same character (like hothead Johnny Storm) but I didn't mind him here. Garrity kinda bugged me but I think he was supposed to. Ultimately, what remains for me is the spectacle and fascinating ideas the film conveys. Sure, it woulda been nice if those ideas were fleshed out a lil more but it was enough for me.
If I were to describe this movie to anybody I would probably tell them what sci-fi films it is most similar to. I'd say there are similarities to "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Alien" and "Silent Running." Some may find it more like the awful "Event Horizon" (itself a remake of 1972's "Solaris" which would later be remade by Soderbergh in 2002) but I feel that's a lazy observation, there's more going on here. Boyle deals with their shared elements a lot more interestingly. Overall, it's a very intense experience, I wouldn't mind seeing it again and I do recommend it to fans of the genre or for more thoughtful fare. I fear for the film's survival in a summer of magic wands and giant robots, it's always good to have other options though and maybe this will be one. Q&A:
It doesn't matter if a film is good or bad, it can still be discussed and the best time to do so is right after one watches it. I've had some of the best after viewing film discussions with friends and most likely so have you. Who better to discuss a film you just watched then with the actual director. It doesn't always happen for me. I've been to screenings with Q&A's for
"The Incredibles",
"Shaun of the Dead", and
"Lord of War", fortunately those were all great movies. Needless to say, I was quite excited to be able to stay in my seat after this film and wait for
Danny Boyle to arrive (apparently he was caught in traffic at 10pm at night. Later I would find out it was raining where he was coming from).
I'll try and recall what went down....
Boyle was greeted with a round of applause as two director's chairs were positioned so he and Capone can chat with their cordless mics. Capone thanked him for coming and started out by saying that it was great to see a group of scientists and doctors up in outer space for a change. I don't really know what he meant by that, cuz there certainly have been other sci-fi films with a group of scientists and doctors banded together on a mission. Then he opened it up for questions.
One question I recall was that of the character's and actor's camaraderie that came across so well.....Was there anything in particular done to prepare these actors for that? Boyle stated that actors come to film sets in a bubble. They often bring with them their agent, their chef, their trainer, etc. He stated his goal is to pop that bubble, so there is nothing left but the actor. Then they're able to focus and be on his side. One of the ways he did this was to house all the actors in a dormitory in East London. Some of the actors were a little taken aback at first but they came around and realized that all of it was for the sake of the characters. I thought was pretty cool.
I asked him where the film was shot and if he storyboarded at all. Boyle stated that he usually stays away from Pinewood Studios (where the Star Wars and Bond films were shot) cuz they're just too enormous and the workers there run around calling you "Guv-nah".which doesn't sit well with him. He chose a smaller film warehouse in London and worked with the same visual effects house that director Ridley Scot uses. As for storyboards, he states he usually tries not to rely on them because he likes to already have the film visualized and also keep a more fluid feel to the sequences.
There was a question on whether or not any
spiritual themes hinted at throughout or deliberately mentioned at the end of the film were intentional. Boyle commented that while much is open to a viewer's interpretation, one cannot help but to include the spiritual in the story's environment. With human beings floating alone in outer space, taking inventory in one's place in the universe is only natural. One of the sources for research was a book called
Moondust about all the astronauts who stepped foot on the moon and how many of them were emotionally and/or psychologically scarred from being in that atmosphere. He mentioned that it was reported as being a very humbling and lonely feeling. It does something to one's pysche and he wanted to work off that and include elements of that in the story.
Boyle talked some about how the sci-fi genre has it's conventions and some of them are limited. He knew that with a set-up of eight crew members in danger out in space, everyone knows that they're gonna be "done away with" one by one. So, they trick is how to do that in a way that both serves the character and the overall story. Among his list of sci-fi movie conventions, he mentioned how there's no sex in sci-fi films, which of course gained some laughter. He just said, it's funny but it's true.
It was so great to just sit there and hear Boyle go on about the film. I felt I wasn't sure if I'd get picked again but I did have another question. Oh and I had a load of 'em. I can see a guy off to their side signing to Capone how many more questions he should take. When he signaled two I raised my hand again and sure enough I was the last to be called. I told him that I really enjoyed "Millions" and obviously this movie was a complete departure. I asked him what the process was in-between projects. After "Millions" did he just feel like working on a sci-fi film? How did this come about? What he had to say was really interesting. He said that a director or really any artist can never really go back to the feeling of that first work. Be it a painting or film. The newness of not knowing what you're doing will never come back but in selection different types of projects, he hopes to at least feel a little bit of that "I don't know what I'm doing feeling". Boyle said he had no idea how to do a sci-fi film and that was exciting for him. Garland came to him with the script and they researched it and went for it. One of the attractions to this film was working with these actors in such confined places.
Boyle added to my question saying that his next film is currently being made in India. It's a comedy about a young illiterate boy who tries to become a contestant on the Hindi version of How Wants to Be a Millionaire? Once again, a totally different experience. With "sunshine" there were environments that he could control but shooting in a bustling Indian street with all the people, he has to account for everything. So, that's what he looks for, to reinvent himself each time.
Boyle mentioned that Michelle Yeoh was the first actor to be cast and she had the choice of deciding what character she wanted to play. She chose the role of the biologist in charge of maintaining a peaceful oxygen garden both for food and air. He mentioned that Yeoh had a very calming presence for the whole crew. That she was "kind of a healer in the group, a bonder."
With that question answered, Capone thanked him again for coming. He also thanked me for mentioning "Millions" one of his favorites as well. Boyle thanked everyone for coming as well and for the opportunity to discuss the film. The studio promo people passed out these colorful Icarus II crew patches to everyone. Free swag! As soon as the standing applause erupted, I made a mad dash to the front floor with my bag. In my bag I had a DVD's of both "Millions" and "28 Days Later" that I wanted to try and get him to sign. I went right up to him in front of the rest of the crowd. I waited till after some guy in front of me was done talking to him, then there was these guys to the left of me from some new film school that got Boyle's attention. Apparently Boyle had an interview with one of them the next morning. The one guy asked to take a picture of Boyle and his friend. Boyle complied and was elated to see that the photographer was taking his picture with an Iphone.
I was up next and I grabbed his attention by whipping out the DVD covers. I asked if he would sign them. He had no problem as I gave him my Sharpie. I thanked him for coming and he immediately told me thanks and that it was just great to be here. We shook hands and I went on my way, happy as can be. It's a cool feeling coming into contact with a filmmaker or actor who turns out not to disappoint. Sure, they're there to promote their film but it's still some great, rare, insightful one on one time that can be remembered forever.
One last note, a comical one....a theater worker came in and made an announcement asking everyone to leave because they had to get ready for a movie that was gonna be playing in that theatre. This got Boyle's attention and he asked the worker what movie to which the worker replied
"Sicko". Boyle immediately laughed and scoffed,
"Oh no no no. I thought it mighta been "Transformers." Oh well."