Solaris (2002)

[K1stpierre]

Discuss

[solaris]

Ok so I may be a little biased, but how this film gets so overlooked baffles me. There's so much to love here - Soderbergh's direction is taut & unfussy; the film clocks in at barely 100 mins and efficiently & economically tells us everything we need to know. Moreover, the film is STUNNING to look at - not just the space stuff (particularly that docking scene) which still holds up today, but the uber Kubrickian shots of McElhone's Rhea from Kelvin's point of view.

 

 

Clooney has never been better - in the flashbacks to the dinner party, he displays every ounce of smooth Clooney charm he can muster, contrasted to the cold shell he has become by the time he reaches Solaris. McElhone is also amazing - her performance is so unshowy and naturalstic that her Rhea feels very very feel.

 

Cliff Martinez' soundtrack is startling and beautiful too. Propulsive and delicate and a perfect complement to the atmospheric visuals.

 

This is a film that has stuck with me more and more as I've grown and (hopefully) matured. The sci-fi 'stuff' of the story is handled well by Soderbergh in that it's never really the focus - this is a film about how we can never really know the people that we're with, and that we're always, in some way, creating an 'improved' facsimile of ourselves to keep the other person happy. Kelvin, whilst initially rejecting this 'version' of his wife, comes to accept her, ultimately at the cost of rejecting every other connection to the world.

 

One of my all time favourites, and the reason that I will watch absolutely anything Soderbergh directs.

[Plain Old Tele]

It's solid enough, but it falls short of the languid haunting weirdness of the original.

[Kosko]

This film has a great atmosphere and a amazing score, oh and the visuals matched the style of the film beautifully.7/10