Released: 11th December 2020 (Netflix)
Length: 118 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone, Demián Bichir and Kyle Chandler
With a career spanning multiple genres and productions, George Clooney has maintained a healthy presence on the big screen. Outside of his major roles the man has formed a pattern of taking the director’s chair every three years since 2002. His latest effort unfortunately feels rather dull and forgettable.
The Midnight Sky opens with an unknown disaster having devastated Earth, with the few survivors either evacuated or taken off world to a new home orbiting Jupiter. Augustine (George Clooney) is seemingly the only human remaining as he monitors the raging storms. After discovering a young girl (Caoilinn Springall) was left behind, he reaches out to the returning Aether spacecraft in a bid to send her to safety and from here the narrative splits into two halves. The first is a dangerous journey across the ice to reach a more transmissible location and the second follows the crew of the Aether as they contend with hazards on the way home. While it aims for a slow burn with a human core at its centre, the film stumbles quickly. The narrative is rather vague throughout; it appears to be leaving many components a mystery to put the focus on the characters. But because the said ensemble is painfully average, the overarching story they inhabit only rings more hollow. On the whole, there’s little to no payoff to be found in The Midnight Sky as it fails to elaborate on its wider plot elements; it even borrows liberally from another, far superior space flick at one point.
A character focused drama cannot function without strong performances and everyone involved in The Midnight Sky appears rather short-changed. Augustine may be placed in the centre, but you’ll have a hard time empathising with him. George Clooney attempts to portray the scientist as someone disconnected from others, but his interactions with the young Iris don’t create a compelling connection. Aboard the Aether, things are painfully basic instead; the bond between Dr. Sullivan (Felicity Jones) and Commander Adewole (David Oyelowo) doesn’t build an emotional response either. The interactions between the space-faring team are passable, but it can’t hide their lack of impact. Some of them do little more than sit around at terminals and take on the occasional discussion; this is especially true of Sanchez (Demián Bichir) and Mitchell (Kyle Chandler) who go by thoroughly wasted throughout. On the whole, the film’s talented cast is incredibly bland, the script unable to leverage their skills.
The only element in The Midnight Sky that functions reasonably well is its technology. From an atmospheric standpoint it does have some high points; the sense of isolation is certainly palpable in the Arctic circle, even if the film’s central star doesn’t make good on its emotional potential. Long-reaching shots of the frozen landscape make for some beautiful scenery. The same is also true of the celestial vistas and panning framing of the spacecraft which provide more stunning views. The two visual palettes are blended with a serene ambient soundtrack that draws you into the environments. It’s all very well shot and edited, but without the crucial pieces to back it up, the visual sights can only get the film so far.
With its limp plot and lacklustre characters, The Midnight Sky doesn’t have much going for it. From the likes of George Clooney and other talented actors, we should expect so much better. It all feels incredibly shallow and outside of its somewhat absorbing atmosphere, there are far better space-faring productions that deserve your attention.
Rating: 2/5 Stars (Disappointing)
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