Mars Needs Watney! The Martian Rules

 

All too often, when successful novels are adapted as movies, you lose the magic of the tone that made them special in the first place.

Not so with Ridley Scott’s triumphant depiction of Andy Weir’s smash debut novel, The Martian. The book was awesome, and Scott has wisely retained all the magic that made the book such an addictive best-seller, with spot-on casting and an escalating sense of fun. Marooned Mars astronaut Mark Watney is wonderfully portrayed by Matt Damon, keeping the character’s two most pivotal traits front-and-center – his humor and his inventive resourcefulness.

 

It’s easily Scott’s most crowd-pleasing and accessible film since Gladiator or Thelma and Louise, and it’s easy to see why the weekend box office was so strong. Left for dead on Mars after a freak accident, Watney has to deconstruct every environmental variable imaginable to increase his potential longevity, stopping just short of alchemy at manufacturing the food, air and water necessary to survive. The engaging first-person angle of the book is preserved through video log entries, which let Damon speak directly to the camera, as he plans, worries, free-associates and complains. His percolating isolation amid the vast red landscapes of Mars contrasts with the Apollo 13 team problem-solving back at NASA, and the dawning realization among Damon’s crewmates on Hermes (their amazingly designed and believable space vehicle) that their dead crewmate may still be alive. 

 

Changes from the novel are minimal at best, and every single cast member delivers beautifully, including a couple of Marvel vets – Michael Peña(Ant-Man) continues his hot streak and it’s nice to see Sebastian Stan (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) among the crew, along with a terrific turn by Jessica Chastain as the mission commander. Ridley Scott is at the top of his game here. He’s going to go down in history as one of the most influential science fiction directors of all time, effectively trumping both Gravity and Interstellar here, from a pure audience enjoyment factor. Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (Prometheus) is king of the cinema right now, with his work in both this and The Walk currently dazzling audiences. The real hero here is screenwriter Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), who conducts a master class on how to economically adapt a book to film. It feels like everyone involved knew they were making something special and brought their A-game to the table. 

 

Perhaps The Martian’s greatest legacy will be in what it inspires. Like the book, this is a movie that embraces science and the imagination. The heroic superpower is math, and an understanding of scientific cause-and-effect. Astronauts and scientists are depicted realistically, as problem-solving visionaries who keep trying, regardless of their setbacks. The Martian feels like it could well rouse a whole new generation to pursue careers in science and space exploration. In this age of fervent science-denial and diminished vision, that’s just the kind of outcome our future needs. The Martian is a spectacularly good time at the movies

 

Bold Man and the Sea: All Is Lost

No matter how hard you try, every year it seems you miss a few pictures that you know are up there with the years' best. So with all the enthusiasm in the air for The Martian, it seemed like a good time to finally check out All Is Lost, the 2013 film about another shipwrecked individual, trying like hell to survive. Talk about being worth the wait. All Is Lost is a spectacular movie, and features a remarkable solo performance by the great Robert Redford.

Redford is simply Our Man, the lone character in the film. He's on a solo sailing voyage in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from Sumatra when he wakes up to discover a hole in his yacht, seawater pouring in. In a fluke of bad luck, he's collided with a drifting steel cargo container, and things go from unexpected to dire very quickly.

A huge part of the pleasure of this film is the intimacy the camera has with Redford. It has a remarkable you-are-there feel, as Redford quietly goes about his business using his knowledge and seamanship to make repairs and remedy his circumstances. It's a film that's nearly dialogue-free, in which we see resourcefulness trade places with anxiety on more than one harrowing occasion.

Great cinema gives you an experience and takes you into someone else's life in a way you've never imagined, and that's exactly what writer-director  J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, A Most Violent Year) gives us here. Collaborating with cinematographers Frank G. De Marco and Peter Zuccarini, Chandor creates a painterly, realistic sense of what it feels like to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean, miles from any other living soul. Storms roll in out of nowhere, and if there are special effects in All Is Lost, they're seamless, as it appears this film was shot entirely out on the open sea, which as Steven Spielberg will attest, can be an absolute nightmare. Redford is simply amazing here, his face beyond expressive in the most naturalistic way. Concerns ripple across his weathered face, sinking into dread. It's a story of the human experience bared raw, exemplified by one man's struggle to keep thinking and somehow just survive. That Redford wasn't nominated for his work here is an absolute travesty, as All Is Lost is a career-crowning achievement. At the age of 77 when this film came out, he continues to be a unique and compelling presence, doing his own stunts here that seem utterly foolhardy, more often than not, soaked to the bone.

The sound team (Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hyams received the films' only nominations) along with composer Alex Ebert, creates an eerie and atmospheric mix of wind and water, combining with the sounds of ever-weakening, strained equipment.

I just can't say enough about this film. I love nautical stories with a passion, but Chandor and Redford have given us a piece of cinema here that feels more like a dream. It's truly unique,and completely human, and you will find your blood running cold and your heart sinking, and then some. All Is Lost is just tremendous, and I'm kicking myself for missing it in the theater. This is one of the finest man-against-nature sagas I've seen, and an unforgettable story of a small human spark, trying like hell not to go under. Very highly recommended.