RE-VIEW: Sunshine (2007)

Sunshine

Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Alex Garland
Released: July 27, 2007
US Gross: $3,675,753 (as of October 18, 2007)

Summary: *CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS* In 2057 the Earths Sun has failed. In order to revive the Sun and save Earth, a team of scientists is sent into space aboard the Icarus II, with a mission to deliver a nuclear bomb to the Suns core, reigniting the star. During the mission, the team receives a distress beacon from space, realising that it is coming from the Icarus I, a ship sent on the same mission 7 years prior, but losing contact with Earth before completion.

The team decides to change course to investigate Icarus I, deciding a 2 bomb payload increases the chances of their mission. A miscalculation during the flight, causes the Icarus II to sustain massive damage, making the Icarus I an even more important equation in the mission.

Boarding the Icarus I, the team discovers why the original Icarus team failed, and that the ship is still functional.
Upon returning to Icarus II, and resuming the mission, the team realises they are no longer alone aboard their ship.

Review: I LOVE Danny Boyle, and always have! He has, what I call, Ang Lee syndrome, in that he can change direction styles and subject matter at whim, creating an incredibly rich body of work. Don’t believe me…this is a director that gave us 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Oscar Winner Slumdog Millionaire. YOU find the common thread.

I feel that Sunshine is the Best Science Fiction film ever made. I know, big words. It’s success rests in the fact that Boyleborrows heavily from every sci-fi theme out there, but manages to create something completely new and unique with it. Equal parts 2001: A Space Odyssey, Aliens and Solaris, Sunshine is an epic film filled with themes of isolation, claustrophobia, cabin fever, the desolation of space and terror.

Boyle perfectly captures the claustrophobic feeling aboard the Icarus II by keeping the sets tight, the actors cramped and never showing us a picture of Earth from space, a technique used in almost every space movie filmed. By denying the viewer this image, we feel as isolated as the crew of the Icarus do. The filming was kept intentionally a little darker on the set, magnifying the brilliance of shots of the Sun, increasing the feeling of the importance of the mission.

The cinematography is impeccable in the film, provided by Alwin H. Kuchler, who suggested the idea of keeping the interior of the ship coloured in muted greys and blues, therefore shocking the audience with the brilliance of the Sun when those shots came on screen. The idea is extremely effective and you really marvel at the sun footage used in the film, which is the entire point isn’t it?!

The score is a joint effort between the band Underworld and composer John Murphy. Boyle sent a rough cut of the film to Underworld who then composed a score, which was the given to Murphy who added layers to the tracks, composing a score both brilliant and haunting. This is one of those films the shows exactly how the right music can add ANY level necessary to the film. You feel extra wonder, awe and shock during every scene, all due to this brilliant soundtrack.

The ensemble cast works perfectly together, most likely due to the fact that Boyle had the cast undergo method acting to become the team of the Icarus II. The crew have been together 16 months at the beginning of the film, so Boyle had all the cast live together before principle filming began. They trained together, watched films together, took a tour of a nuclear submarine and experienced ‘zero g’ training, all in an effort to give the cast members a true feeling of teamwork….and isolation.

Boyle alumni Cillian Murphy plays Capa, the team officer in charge of the payload. He is perfectly cast in the role, balancing the “team member” and “outsider” dynamic to perfection. As the film plays out and the team become fewer, Murphy is required to carry much of the film himself, which he has no problem doing. He plays terror and urgency so believably that the audience has no choice but to feel the emotions with the character.

The rest of the ensemble cast (Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Troy Garity & Mark Strong) compliment each other extremely well, and all help convey the sense of hopelessness and inevitable distress the crew feels as the film plays out.

The visual effects never seem over the top and blend seamlessly within the film, flowing into one another perfectly. Boyle had London’s Moving Picture Company do all the effects, choosing the one company to do them all, therefore keeping it easier for the director to check on the progress, and having all the effects maintain the same aesthetic. The film’s effects are astounding and gorgeous.

The film does switch to bit of a cat & mouse story towards the end, feeling slightly contrived, but that is a minor complaint. It’s a necessary plot device in order for the film to play out the way it does, adding the ‘we are not alone’ story arc. While this arc is developing, the sense of dread builds…keeping the films already eerie premise and stark realities moving in a fluid direction. Switching to the cat & mouse plot device helps bring the film to it’s closure, but the lead up is far better than the ‘final confrontation’. But this is still, a minor flaw, if it can be considered a flaw at all, and with that being said, the entire sequence running roughly 15 minutes, is the most beautiful of the film!

The film should be watched on Blu Ray, with as big an HD screen as possible, and the right receiver as the films sound presentation in Dolby Digital DTS is some of the best sound I’ve heard on a disc. You are immersed in the sounds of the ship, the terror in the score, and even the silence of space. If you’re watching on DVD you are missing out kid…get with the new millennium!

The extras on the disc includes the standard deleted scenes and commentaries, theatrical trailer and a great picture-in-picture Enhanced Viewing Mode which will pop up during certain scenes in the film and offer insight into sets, the filming process etc. It offers a lot of unique content.

A feature I found extremely entertaining was the Journey Into Sound option. Viewers watching in 5.1 sound have the option to change the dialogue features during four key scenes. During these scenes, the dialogue audio is isolated to an individual track, which you can then assign to different speakers, to see how moving the area the dialogue emanates from changes the feel of the scene. It’s pretty cool.

I know there are a LOT of great sci-fi films out there, it’s an amazing genre, but at the same time, it has become slightly stifled and hackneyed. Boyle has infused the medium with a smart and fun thriller, that’s high on entertainment, ripe with a great story and action, and the perfect amount of pathos to help invest us in the story.

For all these reasons I place Sunshine in my Masterpiece category.