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The Farmer Astronaut
Feb. 24th, 2007 11:48 amI went to see The Astronaut Farmer last night. If you want to see it in a movie theater, go now. The 400-seat auditorium had barely 40 people in it for an 8 o'clock show.
This begs the question, "is the movie worth it?" My answer is "yes." Written and directed by the Polish brothers (heck of a name, huh?) the movie's grasp of physics is a bit weak, and they don't seem to have heard of the "alt.space" movement, but those are quibbles.
The story is simple enough. Billy Bob Thornton plays an ex-astronaut candidate named Charles Farmer. When his dad suicides, he quits the program and goes back to Story, Texas, and runs the family ranch. In his spare time, he builds a rocket, based on the Atlas rocket used in the Mercury program.
He's helped in this endeavor by his family, two daughters (played by daughters of the directors) and his fifteen-year-old son. Everybody else, from the quirky townspeople to the FBI, FAA and NASA (including Bruce Willis as an astronaut) is against him. Farmer is broke and about to get foreclosed on, so a number of people think his rocket is a fancy way to commit suicide, just like his dad. About halfway in, it looks like everybody is right.
This is not an action movie, but rather a character study. The movie explores the difference between "crazy" and "determined," with a side look at optimism vs. blind faith. In several cases, the moviemakers had an option to go with the sentimental and heroic, and in each case they tried to be realistic. Overall, it's an enjoyable picture. Unfortunately, I think it's quirky enough that it won't immediately catch fire with the public. In this poll-tested age, that means it's not a "success." And that would be a real shame.
This begs the question, "is the movie worth it?" My answer is "yes." Written and directed by the Polish brothers (heck of a name, huh?) the movie's grasp of physics is a bit weak, and they don't seem to have heard of the "alt.space" movement, but those are quibbles.
The story is simple enough. Billy Bob Thornton plays an ex-astronaut candidate named Charles Farmer. When his dad suicides, he quits the program and goes back to Story, Texas, and runs the family ranch. In his spare time, he builds a rocket, based on the Atlas rocket used in the Mercury program.
He's helped in this endeavor by his family, two daughters (played by daughters of the directors) and his fifteen-year-old son. Everybody else, from the quirky townspeople to the FBI, FAA and NASA (including Bruce Willis as an astronaut) is against him. Farmer is broke and about to get foreclosed on, so a number of people think his rocket is a fancy way to commit suicide, just like his dad. About halfway in, it looks like everybody is right.
This is not an action movie, but rather a character study. The movie explores the difference between "crazy" and "determined," with a side look at optimism vs. blind faith. In several cases, the moviemakers had an option to go with the sentimental and heroic, and in each case they tried to be realistic. Overall, it's an enjoyable picture. Unfortunately, I think it's quirky enough that it won't immediately catch fire with the public. In this poll-tested age, that means it's not a "success." And that would be a real shame.
