Throughout the history of cinema, spaceships and futuristic settings have been a common sight, and it’s easy to wonder if all (or most) possible ideas for science fiction have been exhausted. It’s 2024, so you’d think that by now, writers would have run out of ideas. This is somewhat the case with Swedish filmmaker Mikael Håfström’s “Slingshot,” which tries to do a lot with its relatively low budget and partially succeeds.
While the script, written by R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker, contains moments of inspired storytelling, the film ends up being a far cry from superior space-set films like “Interstellar.” And yet, the presence of three actors fully committed to their respective roles and the intriguing story full of twists (including an ambiguous ending) make this sci-fi film worth watching.
Director: Mikael HåfströmWriters: R. Scott Adams, Nathan ParkerStars: Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, David Morrissey
At some point in the near future (we never know for sure when the film takes place, but this is not relevant), a spaceship is headed for Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The crew prepares for a dangerous maneuver called a “slingshot.” Two of the crew members, John (Oscar winner Casey Affleck) and Nash (The Boys’ Tomer Capone), suffer severe side effects from deep hibernation as they struggle to tell the difference between reality and hallucinations.
They also have to deal with the no-nonsense Captain Franks (Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne) and the fact that the mission (and perhaps even the ship itself) could be compromised. John also dreams and thinks wistfully about his former partner, Zoe (Emily Beecham), one of his competitors for his spot on the ship.
Håfström has a somewhat mixed filmography, with two of the films he’s most known for being “The Rite” (which received poor reviews) and “1408” (which received good reviews). “Slingshot” seems to fall somewhere in between those two. While the direction is nothing exciting, it’s still impressive that he’s able to make such an ambitious piece of sci-fi on a much smaller budget than other films in the genre. Screenwriter Adams is fairly new, having only written 2011’s “Donner Pass,” while co-writer Parker has written for acclaimed projects like 2009’s “Moon” and the limited series “The Underground Railroad.” “Moon,” in particular, showcases unique and unexpected storytelling, and we see some of that in “Slingshot.”
While the concept itself is innovative enough and the characters are distinctive, Adams and Parker’s script is chock-full of clichés, along with boring and/or hackneyed dialogue. We’ve all seen movies set in space that deal with the breaking down of crew loyalties as one person tries to get them to operate as a team. Also, the characters’ motivations, aside from John’s, are unclear, to say the least. While it’s certainly interesting to see the psychological effects of deep hibernation on the crew, the exploration of reality versus hallucination is anything but revelatory. Also, while the movie is less than two hours long, the pacing seems off, especially since the big event of the slingshot maneuver happens so quickly in the narrative. There’s some lack of buildup, and with such a climactic event happening so soon, one might wonder how that momentum could be maintained. Thankfully, the writers fill the remaining screen time with plenty of twists and big moments that keep the footage from stretching out any longer than it should.
Also, the script sees the ship, here bearing the uninspired name “The Odyssey,” as another character, which, on paper, is an interesting prospect. The production design and technology present on the ship are probably similar to things you've already seen, but it turns out that the ship is less interesting than the psychological deterioration of the characters in the film. The so-called slingshot maneuver is cleverly explained through a flashback, and it's the best use of the flashbacks, which are seen throughout the film's 108-minute runtime.
The flashbacks are meant to convey John's struggle to maintain his grip on reality, and by the end, we're just as confused as he is. The numerous twists may irritate some viewers, not to mention the ambiguous ending that's meant to evoke something like "Inception." At some point, you might start to wonder if there are too many twists, but the film doesn't care what you think. Instead, the shocking, puzzle-piece-like ending is sure to get viewers talking and maybe even rewatching to see if they can figure it out.
As mentioned, all three actors are solid, with Affleck being the standout. He handles his character's increasingly fragile mentality with skill.
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