Tense, hellbent journey to Mars
It would be easy to dismiss the mission-to-Mars drama “Approaching the Unknown” as “The Martian”-lite, except, unlike last year’s Matt Damon hit, there’s little that’s light about this essentially oneman show. In fact, it’s a rather serious meditation on space exploration and such big-picture concepts as life and death. In its own compact way, it’s quite a stirring if low-key journey.
British actor Mark Strong is excellent as the very American astronaut Capt. William Stanaforth, who’s on a 270-day “oneway” trip to colonize the Red Planet. Most of the action takes place inside Stanaforth’s ship as he maintains the spacecraft, practices daily routines and interacts via video chats with vigilant mission control contact Louis “Skinny” Skinner (Luke Wilson) and Emily Maddox (Sanaa Lathan), another solo astronaut following in Stanaforth’s path.
All’s well for our confident hero until his miscalculations prompt “Skinny” to demand the captain’s immediate return to Earth. The obsessed Stanaforth cuts off communication, switches into survival mode and flies hellbent toward Mars.
Under the steady hand of writer-director Mark Elijah Rosenberg, tension and pathos build, slowly sweeping us along with the captain’s fraught yet hopeful exploration. Crisp cinematography, strong production design and deft visual effects round out this intriguing adventure.
“Approaching the Unknown.” MPAA rating: R for language. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Royal Theatre, West Los Angeles; also on VOD