Films with A-list actors have been few and far between this year, so I was excited to check out Netflix’s The Midnight Sky, a film based on the book Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, and starring George Clooney and Felicity Jones. This is the sixth feature film George Clooney has directed, but just the first in the science fiction genre. Clooney is no stranger to sci-fi, as the Academy Award winner took up lead roles in Solaris (2001), Gravity (2013), and Tomorrowland (2015).
In The Midnight Sky, Clooney portrays Dr. Augustine Lofthouse, a scientist who in his younger years, worked to find habitable planets for humanity to expand to, in the case that life on Earth falls through. In the present year of 2049, Augustine is terminally ill and has chosen to be alone at a contact station in the Arctic. While trying to tend to his sickness, Augustine is also trying to reach one of many space explorations crafts in attempts to warn them about the apocalyptic events that have taken place on Earth. Meanwhile, the space craft Aether and its crew have been on a two-year journey to one of Jupiter’s moons, and are on their way back to Earth without knowledge of its condition.
Clooney is almost unrecognizable in this role to those that are used to the usual playboy “Danny Ocean” style character he typically plays. All the charm and smiles we’re used to are replaced with a mighty beard and the grizzled effects of trauma and existential dread. From the get-go, he is gruff and hard-headed, doing a fantastic job of acting like a man on a desperate mission, and the audience is kind of kept in the dark about why things are so personal for him until later in the film. Felicity Jones does a wonderful job as usual, and the two are surrounded by a cast of veteran actors, like Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights, Super 8), David Oyelowo (Selma), and Tiffany Boone (Hunters). The cast is extremely small, and the chemistry is tight. Each character is explored to the point of knowing where they stand and what they have to lose with the possible oncoming news of a dead home planet. Absolutely no complaints about the acting.
For sci-fi, the story felt extremely linear. I kept expecting things to go a little off the rails in a good way, but they remained straightforward. At times, the film felt a little too cookie-cutter, and the intense space moments were expected rather than a surprise. It’s possible that the constant heart-attack inducing moments in Gravity had me prepped for this film. Weirdly enough, I felt way more intensity for what was going on with Augustine on Earth, than with the Aether in space. Regardless, the story felt a little like I had been through it before. I did enjoy some of the flashback moments, and Ethan Peck looked eerily like a younger Clooney. I also think it is important to mention for sci-fi fans out there, this film is on the dramatic side, and less on the action side. I would compare it much more to Arrival or Ad Astra than I would to Aliens or Tenet. Don’t expect everything to come out right as rain, either. The film is bleak through and through.
The technical aspects of The Midnight Sky were the highlights for me. I fully expect to see some Academy Award nominations next year. The film captured a lot of the same feelings I had with Gravity, making me feel like it was truly filmed in space. The set design, cinematography, visual effects of the planets, spacecraft, contact stations, etc. were all top notch and looked awesome. I’m sucker for all this futuristic sci-fi setting, so when it’s done right, I cheer. Once again, we’re blessed with an absolutely stunning score from Alexandre Desplat, who composed award-winning scores for The Shape of Water and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Every moment of the score was heartfelt or intense, and without it, I think the film would feel much blander.
I enjoyed The Midnight Sky for the most part, but something just felt like it was missing. It was vague in so many sections that I wanted explanations, and whether it was intentional or not, it left me feeling like there was unfinished business to tend to. I thought it was good, but not great, which is a bummer, because all the pieces were right there to put it with films like Gravity or Arrival. Unfortunately, I think it falls short of those. I still suggest checking it out, especially to sci-fi buffs. With the lack of big-budget films and the easy accessibility, it is totally worth the watch.
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