| SOLARIS |
| Starring George Clooney, Natasha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis Directed by Steven Soderbergh **** out of **** One can hardly discuss a film as profound as Solaris without going into detail. Therefore, I advise those who are spoiler sensitive to make these next lines their last: Solaris is a quietly gripping psychological drama with a star performance by George Clooney; there are no explosions, no violence prone extra terrestrials lashing out at people with acid-dripping tentacles. There is some mystery and suspense, but soon the film leaves its SF roots and becomes a powerful study of loss, second chances and human nature. Chris Kelvin (Clooney) is a psychiatrist somewhere in the not-too-distant future. It is obvious that he is not a joyful man, but we don�t know why. Then he is contacted by space authorities who want him to travel to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris, where something had happened to the crew. A security team was sent but disappeared. Moments later, Kelvin is in the station, finding bloody smears and only two living crewmembers: the daffy Snow (Jeremy Davies) and dr. Gordon (Viola Davis). Snow sits in his chair and moves his hands a lot when he�s speaking; dr. Gordon locks herself in her room and is at first hesitant to talk to Kelvin. When Kelvin enquires about what events had transpired aboard the station, Snow answers: �I could tell you what happened, but I�m not sure whether that�ll tell you what happened.� Or something to effect. Kelvin wakes up the following morning with his wife Rheya (Natascha McElhone) beside him. He is visibly shocked; she died years ago. So unravels the riddle of Solaris. What had happened isn�t as important as what will happen. Kelvin learns that both Snow and Gordon have their own �visitors�, as they refer to them, but we never see them. What are the visitors? At first, Kelvin isn�t completely sure, but is level headed enough to know that whatever it is, it can�t be real. Yet Rheya is flesh and blood, and speaks to her husband in the way he knows her to. Solaris, it seems, is much more than simply another planet. It is intelligent, and investigates the humans who oberserve it. �What does it want?� Kelvin asks in desperation, and the question has no clear answer. Solaris, based on the novel by Russian author Stanislaw Lem and previously filmed in the early 1970�s, isn�t a Twist-movie (like so many of today�s films are, all trying to out-twist each other). I cannot stress enough that the film is more 2001 than Event Horizon. Avoiding space crises, the film�s conflict is intrapsychic. If you have a second chance to be with someone you love, what would you do with it? Gordon is clear on her standpoint: �It isn�t human and I�m threatened by that.� Which begs the question, one acutely addressed by Spielberg�s AI, on what criteria constitutes a human being. Traffic director Steven Soderbergh crowns an acclaimed career with this mindbender in which everything is explained and yet requires serious thought afterwards. At the least, the film will spark debate not only on it�s merit but on its comment on human character and the dynamics of human relationships. Undoubtedly, many viewers� experience of the film will stop at it being slow, pointless, farfetched, clinical and without absolute closure. This film is not for those people. Solaris was a costly box-office failure Stateside, but has found its way into the memories of many. I marvel at Soderbergh�s ability to restrain himself from the camera-indulgence of Traffic, and his and James Cameron�s (who helped to produce) willingness to make a film that not only combines the heart and mind of the person watching, but doesn�t assume that their audience is brain dead. COPYRIGHT 2003 CW Broodryk |
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