The Midnight Sky

 2020, George Clooney (The Monuments Men) -- Netflix

I think this is one of those situations where the book, Good Morning, Midnight written by Lily Brooks-Dalton, was probably better. While I have not read it, I imagine the book as a sombre read, all mood and atmosphere as we explore the two main characters, Augustine Lofthouse, the aging, dying scientist trapped in an Arctic station, and "Sully" Sullivan, an astronaut returning to Earth after a mission to X-23, a moon of Jupiter. In a novel, you can dwell entirely within a character's mind & thoughts, and provide very little "action" and get away with it. In a movie, you cannot. You have to have a story move along, and carry your viewers along with them.

Augustine (Clooney, E.R.) is a scientist who explored the ideas of life on other planets, or more accurately, planets that could maintain human life. He was so focused on this, he sacrificed any real life he had on this planet. In his last years, he stays behind at an Arctic observatory, when everyone else evacuates to ... somewhere else, probably bunkers. Meanwhile, the Aether, the ship sent to determine if X-23 was indeed a viable planet for human life, is returning to Earth, and are not aware that something is going on. Something apocalyptic, something destroying all life on Earth. Something they decide not to explain to us. 

Augustine is monitoring their return, when a little girl appears. Was she left behind? Is she all in his head? It doesn't really matter, as there is nobody who could reclaim her, so Augustine begins connecting with the child, despite having spent his entire life incapable of making a connection with anyone. Clooney's appeal shines, even as the aging socially inept scientist, he is likeable. Eventually the Aether is in range, but Clooney and Iris, the little girl, will have to go to another, even more remote station, to make contact via a stronger antenna.

Meanwhile, the Aether is returning, and we get some rather typical, but glorious looking, space scenes as the small crew deals with Space Calamities and the mystery as to why Earth is so silent. Once they actually connect with Augustine, they realize that all their choices have to change, the next stages in their lives are ruled by a planet that is very likely ending. Augustine has made his final sacrifice, informed them and that is it.

*Spoilers*

That is the frustration of the movie. That is it. That is why the Internet hates this movie. Without a more emotional connection to these characters, Augustine and Sully, there is no climax for the movie, as it choose to not tell us anything about the ending of the world. Sure, that is the point of the movie, that it's about the choices people made, and not apocalypses. But the trappings of a movie are all about that. Sure, we learn that the little girl is imaginary, that Iris is, in fact Iris Sullivan, or Sully, the astronaut that Augustine is so desperate to communicate with, because she is his daughter, and he never connected with her during the first 30 years of her life. But the thin attempt to build a tie between us and these characters just ends up making this reveal a rather groaner, a weak twist.

The movie reminded me of Ad Astra in that the central theme is the emotions, but they are so obviously wrapped in a movie that is more about scifi spectacle, so much so that said emotions are not that impactful. While I thought it was executed extremely well, production efforts were epic and sweeping, I was once again wondering what the point of it all was again. In such a movie, I want to be swept away in the emotions, to feel the weight Augustine feels as he sees not just his own life ending, but ALL life. I want it to weigh heavy on my heart, like the silent sadness I felt for the characters in The Leftovers, but really, I just saw a man who knew he had screwed up, but who shrugged and ignored his feelings. Even his final act is more an act of assuaging his guilt, than any real emotional toil. Meanwhile Sully is supposed to be hope, she looks into the void and sees only what Can Be instead of the ending. But why? The fucking world just ended and there is so little to her tale a this point, its also like she just shrugs and moves on. Maybe that was it? Her dad's immature emotional understanding can work both ways? Meh.