Login
"He's not your husband, not anymore."
The Astronaut's Wife had two things going for it that eventually persuaded me to commit to a screening.
One is that it's a thriller. I love watching thrillers that can successfully send a chill down my spine and was anxious to see if the filmmakers had done a good job this time.
The other thing, of course, is Johnny Depp in the lead role. I make no effort to hide the fact that I admire Depp because he is a versatile actor capable of executing any role if he puts his mind to it.
When I read the synopsis for The Astronaut's Wife I thought it had potential and sounded quite chilling, although I couldn't shake off the feeling of déjà vu in relation to Roman Polanski's classic horror film Rosemary's Baby. And so I settled in with lunch and a great friend of mine to watch this thriller.
Regrettably I must have raised my expectations too high because the film turned out to be quite dreadful. This film had a very intriguing concept but ultimately failed in its execution.
The Astronaut's Wife is a trip into clichéd territory where the scares are predictable and the characters are stupid. The writer/director appears to have no problem with travelling from obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B. I lost count of the plot holes and loose ends that are never addressed.
There isn't much you can say about the plot without spoiling the whole thing (not that it would be a bad thing - by all means save 100 mins of your life for something more productive) so I will attempt to outline the plot with very little detail. An astronaut named Spencer (Depp) leaves his wife Jillian (Theron) to embark on a mission into space. After a lapse in communication following a mysterious problem, Spencer returns home to his wife in good health.
But Jillian soon realises that her husband has gone rather peculiar since he returned from his dangerous mission; acting strangely and never wishing to discuss what happened while in space. Although I didn't go into much detail, you can pretty much predict what is going to happen from there.
The film is sort of a cross between Rosemary's Baby and perhaps a little bit of Species II mixed with The Omen. The combination could have produced something a little better quality than this ineffective thriller that missed all opportunities to be something decent.
The cast were at least some compensation for bad scripting. Johnny Depp steers away from all his prior characters; developing something fresh and innovative. It seems that Johnny tried to add some intensity to his character. This is ultimately let down by some poor filmmaking. The editing and cinematography, not to mention the special effects, are what I refer to in that statement.
Charlize Theron sports a haircut that suitably mirrors Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby. Like Depp, she tried and you have to give her credit. There were some scenes when the terror in her performance seems genuine.
One of my central complaints about the film is that evidence is sometimes spilt out far too blatantly. From about an hour into the movie we know that the crazy ravings of Joe Morton's character are going to be right; and can suitably predict the film's subsequent events. I thought it was tradition for thrillers to spill the beans a few scenes before the climax. The film also ends with an uncertain whimper rather than something conclusive.
I am happy I watched The Astronaut's Wife as I am an avid fan of Johnny Depp. I enjoyed the pleasure of being in the company of one of my best friends as well. Thank God for these two things to overshadow the shallow, predictable writing.
4/10
