PLOT: An astronaut struggles to maintain his grip on reality aboard a possibly fatally compromised mission to Saturn’s moon, Titan.
REVIEW: Space is a setting that’s often saved for the big budget, bombastic Hollywood films like Star Wars or even Dune. The setting alone is enough to balloon a budget. Yet I’ve always loved it when the horror genre heads to space for a serious outing. Whether it’s Event Horizon or Sunshine, despite their grand concepts, often hit on a more human level. And while Slingshot certainly doesn’t get into any hell-like dimensions, its focus on paranoia and isolation makes it hard to deny its horror roots.
In Slingshot, Casey Affleck stars as John, an astronaut sent on a mission to Saturn’s moon, in an attempt to retrieve resources for Earth. The narrative is told from John’s perspective as he periodically wakes from hypersleep and makes sure the ship is in working condition. When the ship starts showing issues that aren’t picked up by the sensors, his two other shipmates, Nash and Captain Frakes, have differing ideas on how to handle it. Frakes is more level-headed, always seemingly in charge of the situation, while Nash is very paranoid, and wants to abandon the mission. It’s an interesting dichotomy amongst the crew.
Slingshot mostly focuses on the phantom damage to the ship and whether they should go through with the mission. It’s not all set in space as we do get flashbacks to Earth, with a focus on John’s relationship with Zoe (Emily Beecham). Given her limited screen time and importance to the story, I’d argue Beecham is the backbone of the narrative. She’s convincing in every aspect and works well as John’s anchor to earth. She has an intangible quality that I’m shocked hasn’t been taken advantage of in Hollywood. Laurence Fishburne is wonderful as Captain Frakes, with some great monologues to the crew that show how in charge of the situation he is. And it’s hard to see him against the backdrop of space and not immediately think of Event Horizon. Nash (Tomer Capone) works well as the crewmember who is always questioning the mission. Capone really gets to go wild.
The paranoia of whether or not the ship will make it to Titan is evident with every clank and bang of the hull. Can the ship’s instruments be trusted or should they believe what they’re hearing and seeing? Each hypersleep brings them closer to the point of no return as the integrity of the ship comes more and more into question. Despite the looming threat of space, the human element is what shines through the most here. John’s connection with Zoe back on earth leads us to question how someone could even go on a seemingly one-way mission, no matter the achievement. Because loneliness on Earth is clearly a very different thing than loneliness in space, and I love how the film broaches the topic.
One brilliant aspect of Slingshot is its usage of space. Unlike other films with similar budgets (ISS, I’m looking at you), the filmmakers are smart enough to avoid sequences that would break the immersion. In fact, I could actually see the film being done as a stageplay, with its focus on performance and mostly taking place on the ship. The ship is beautifully designed with its simplicity but still dynamic enough that the limited setting never becomes boring. Director Mikael Håfström gives us exactly the right amount of information and spectacle while putting the true focus on the characters. He strikes the perfect balance.
There are some expected as well as unexpected twists and turns throughout the story. As much as they telegraph certain elements, I think that’s to the film’s benefit. Just when you think the answers are revealed, greater questions loom. While it doesn’t go quite as hard with the crazy visuals as I would have liked, this is still a great film about struggle, both physical and mental. And plays beautifully off the notion that the desire and execution of an idea are vastly different. Slingshot is more than just a film about a space mission, it’s a dissection of loneliness, and how that can manifest.
SLINGSHOT will be available in theaters nationwide on August 30, 2024.
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