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Solaris 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
PG-13, 98 min. (sexuality/nudity, language, thematic elements) |
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Starring: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies, Viola Davis, Ulrich Tukur, Morgan Rusler
Producers: James Cameron, Jon Landau, Rae Sanchini
Screenplay: Steven Soderbergh
Cinematography: Steven Soderbergh
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Released: 11.27.02 (Wide) |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Steven Soderbergh's bold retelling of Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris was a daunting task. The 1972 version
is widely considered a masterpiece of poetic storytelling, slow, mysterious, and mesmerizing. A psychological heavyweight,
it was overshadowed by maybe only Kubrick's own science fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey.
If viewing Tarkovsky's film was surreal, Soderbergh's version could be called efficient. The original clocked in at around
three hours, while this effort is a compact 98 minutes. The essential moody atmospere and psychological trauma is still
here, but is clearly fashioned to accomodate today's more impatient audiences. It has been correctly labeled an art
film made for the cineplex. Strong performances from its cast allow the viewer to delve into the complicated and introspective
material, making Solaris a compelling motion picture.
Although Solaris takes place on a space station, there's very little traditional "sci-fi" elements at work here. Instead,
it's about a planet named Solaris and the scientists that research its gaseous surface. The story stays true to
the Stanislaw Lem novel as did Tarkovsky's film - it opens on Earth with a message sent from one of the scientists,
Gibarian (Ulrich Tukur), to therapist Chris Kelvin (George Clooney). His past involvement in the Solaris project makes him
the ideal candidate to investigate the mysterious deaths of two scientists at the space station. He arrives at the station
to find his friend Gibarian dead and only two survivors - Snow (Jeremy Davies) and Dr. Gordon (Viola Davis). Snow is
apathetic and strangely distant while Dr. Gordon hides in her room. Chris soon discovers what has transpired when
he is visited by his dead wife, Rheya (Natascha McElhone), after he awakens from sleep. Supposedly, the planet has
recreated Rheya in every detail from Chris' mind, but is she really Rheya incarnated or just a "copy" of a painful memory?
Chris endeavors to find the answers while forcing himself to confront his regret of the final days leading up to his wife's
tragic suicide on Earth.
Solaris is not an easy film. Soderbergh examines the nature of human loss through death and the resulting memories
that haunt its victims. He has fasioned the picture with much of the same atmospheric dread that Tarkovsky employed.
This is a quiet, introspective film, one that beckons the audience to contemplate the story's themes. Soderbergh uses
haunting images such as raindrops on a window frame while Chris sits on his bed, meditating on his recent loss, to bookend the
picture. While on the station, which is dark and sanitized, Chris walks the hallways and rooms in a daze, communicating
confusion with inner turmoil, afraid to confront his past. Soderbergh wants to trap the viewer in a world of reflective
mystery while pointing to the stark realization of the fragility and value of life.
Because Solaris is so character driven, casting is critical. For someone who is tabbed as a mainstream actor, George
Clooney has become peculiarly independent in his movie choices. His close ties to Soderbergh, who employed him in
both Ocean's Eleven and Out of Sight, proves he has wisely avoided the temptation to be typecasted as a "hunk who
always gets the girl." His acting skills have been continually stretched and honed, which results in one of his best
performances to date here. He captures the guilt-ridden, anguished mind of Chris, who is at war with his own mind.
The film rests on his shoulders, and he proves strong enough to carry the film.
Not to be outdone is Natasha McElhone, whose Rheya is similarly torn and mentally fatigued. The film presents a fascinating
idea - that Rheya has only the memories in Chris' mind, but that in every other way she believes she is herself. The
horror at the realization that you are a "copy" or not real is mind boggling at the very least. McElhone's portrayal communicates
the desperation and deep need for closure once again (she also has similar suicidal tendencies as did the original Rheya).
She plays off Clooney with skillful calculation as they both know what has to eventually take place. The only question is
how they will accept the inevitable.
Solaris uses silence and contemplation to make the audience think. There aren't many science fiction films that
force the viewer to contemplate life, death, and the in-between. Most involve aliens and space battles, but this film is
too intelligent for anything that superficial. Consider when Chris first arrives at the space station. There is an eerie silence
that is accompanied only by the station's normal operating functions, and Chris suddenly realizes his voyage into
confusion is just beginning. His conversations with Snow and Dr. Gordon seem stuck in slow motion, as if their lack of
verbosity signaled their impending acceptance of the planet's wishes. It's this grasping for answers that allows the viewer
to feel as perplexed as the characters they are observing.
It will be interesting to see if mainstream audiences will embrace Solaris. This is not your average cinematic fare for the
masses. Certainly, many viewers will be disappointed in what the film has to offer, frustrated with the lack of action or
violence. But with Soderbergh and Clooney, not to mention James Cameron as producer, the picture should draw some
interest. Overall, Soderbergh's Solaris doesn't match Tarkovsky's definitive vision of Lem's story, but it does capture many
of the same qualities that make it an absorbing, intriguing motion picture. It's a film that provokes discussion and inspires
the viewer to contemplate its multi-layered issues.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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