Spaceman opens in select theaters February 23, and premieres on Netflix March 1. This review is based on a screening at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
A Science-Fiction Misfire
Aesthetically accomplished, but emotionally dull and philosophically banal, Spaceman is a science- fiction misfire. Despite a stellar dramatic performance from Adam Sandler, and numerous ideas that ought to have worked, the end result is the tale of a man lost in space, who finds nothing and learns even less, even though the movie gestures towards some phantom poignancy that never materializes. He does meet an ancient arachnid being along the way (voiced by none other than Paul Dano), but whatever this creature represents is likely to end up forgotten, once the film dovetails into schmaltzy self-parody.
Storyline and Adaptation
Much about the story works on paper. Adapted by writer Colby Day from Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia, the movie drops us halfway through the solo journey of Jakub Procházka (Sandler), the first astronaut of the free Czech Republic, as he arrives at a mysterious, purple cosmic cloud that’s located near Jupiter and large enough to be visible from Earth.
At the outset, each new development is intriguing to look at. The way Chernobyl alum Johan Renck shoots Sandler on his space voyage has a disorienting quality: The camera never stops floating and spinning, even subtly, adding to Jakub’s inability to tell up from down.
Space Exploration and Visual Style
It’s the only gimmick Spaceman really has. Before long, even Sandler’s frayed, exhausted performance and stilted delivery end up in service of Jakub and Lenka’s distinctly two-dimensional estrangement. He is no one except “aloof husband,” just as she is no one except “long-suffering wife.”
Visual and Cinematic Experience
Spaceman ought to be watched on mute, or perhaps stripped of its dialogue track. Its textured atmosphere and its retro-futuristic designs are gorgeous to look at. Even Hanuš – a creature that seems to change size between shots and feels like the product of malformed CGI – is the right kind of uncanny, with vaguely human eyes and a semi-visible mouth.
Final Thoughts
Despite what works about Spaceman, there’s no saving it beyond a point. Its devolution into empty gesticulating in its disengaging final act feels all but inevitable the moment it starts to over-explain its musings on love, humanity, loneliness, and the mysteries of the universe.