Digital Review – Astronaut (2019)

Back in 1977, he was Roy Neary, the ordinary guy who came into contact with aliens and ended Close Encounters Of The Third Kind by boarding their ship. Now Richard Dreyfuss is aiming for outer space again, this time in a role that he’s been quoted as saying could easily have been Roy in later life.

In Astronaut, he’s retired engineer Angus who’s always loved astronomy – fifty years ago, he’d applied to join the space programme – but, now in his mid-70s, he has health problems, is acutely lonely after the death of his wife and lives with his daughter and her family. Yet that dream is still alive and, when a billionaire scientist launches a competition offering the winner the chance to be on the first passenger flight into space, he decides to enter. He makes the shortlist but, while waiting to be interviewed at the launch site, Angus discovers a safety issue – one that comes with potentially heavy costs.

A film, then, about never giving up on your dreams or, as his doctor tells him, “Keep up the good fight – because what’s the alternative?” and it’s his grandson who inspires him to make this last ditch attempt to reach the stars. Even if it means lying about his age and health when he fills in his application. And while debut director, Shelagh McLeod (she also wrote the script) concentrates on that main narrative, the film works its charming, gentle magic. It’s when it deviates into other territory – his daughter’s marriage and their money problems and, to a lesser extent, the flight’s safety problems – that the film’s sense of direction goes out of the window, meandering and losing its impetus. Thankfully, it picks up again in the final act when it all comes together in a satisfyingly warm hearted conclusion.

There are times when Astronaut’s low budget is apparent, but that’s not to its detriment. Nor is its appearance of having been made for TV. Under the current circumstances, it’s a definite advantage and will hopefully bring what is a piece of low-key but endearing whimsy to a wider audience. It’s also a timely reminder of Dreyfuss’s talents: his loneliness is acute, as is his hope that shooting into space will reunite him with the love of his life. Not that he cuts himself off from others in his grief: during a short stay at a nursing home, he strikes up a friendship with fellow patient Len (Graham Greene) who struggles to communicate and it makes for a touching double act, one that wryly acknowledges its similarity to One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

At a time when we all need some reassurance, comfort and hope, Astronaut strikes the right tone, without ever getting mawkish. Its running time of 90 minutes means it never outstays its welcome and it has plenty of heart, even though it doesn’t beat quite as loudly as it should. Here’s to the dreamers …..

★★★

Drama | Cert: PG | Parkland Pictures | Digital, 27 April 2020 | Dir. Shelagh McLeod | Richard Dreyfuss, Krista Bridges, Lyriq Bent, Richie Lawrence, Graham Greene.

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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