Spaceman – Introspective Outer-space Ballad
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“You long for your mate, only when she leaves. Why?”
Imagine an alien asking you questions that can throw you into an existential crisis while you are already battling acute loneliness, depression, and sleep deprivation. Things can get weird, fast. So before you decide to watch “Spaceman,” you should know this – it is NOT a space movie like “Gravity” or “Interstellar,” but a love story about a man coming to terms with the reality of his floundering relationship with his wife while he is a million miles away from home.
Based on the novel “Spaceman Bohemia” by Jaroslav Kalfar, the 2024 sci-fi movie “Spaceman” is directed by Johan Renck and written for the screen by Colby Day. Adam Sandler plays Jakub Prochazka, an astronaut who is on a solo mission to Venus. Six months into his lone space odyssey, he encounters a spider-like alien who attempts to understand Jakub’s life back on Earth, particularly his relationship with his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan).
“Spaceman” is slow, ruminative, and at points feels like you are watching Jakub having reluctant sessions with his therapist, and eventually warming up to them. For me, the pace turned out to be quite challenging, but Jakub’s philosophical conversations about food, family, and love with the alien he names Janus are amusingly engaging. Janus, the giant space-traveling spider, is excellently voiced by Paul Dano, whose soothing voice lends the spider a worldly personality. So despite his initial creepy appearance, Janus begins to grow on you, like Chewbacca from Star Wars, but with the ability to talk.
The cinematography for “Spaceman” flits between Jacub’s cluttered spaceship, which is an awkward post-modern mash of technology, and his wife’s Lenka’s world, which is far removed from his outer-space exploits. It’s the background music that serves as a major protagonist in this 1 hour 47-minute-long film, including a decent amount of loud, annoying whirring noise coming from Jakub’s space toilet. I mean, I didn’t like a lot of the background sounds, even though some of it helps create an oppressive atmosphere it’s tale.
Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan deliver riveting performances as a couple stuck in a strained relationship – Lenka feels she is trapped in a world that’s too far removed from her partner’s space ambitions, leaving her feeling like an insignificant speck, while Jakub is a self-centered astronaut from a humble background who lets his ambitions blind him from what’s important. Can they salvage their relationship? It takes a weird, curious alien to help Jakub introspect into his personal life and if going away a million miles from those he loves is really worth it.
“Spaceman” might seen bizarre at first glance, but it’s an interesting allegory on human relationships, particularly ones where one partner seems to be making more sacrifices than the other. However, it’s too slow, and maintains a consistent flat gloomy pace that can be quite the downer. Watch it only if you’re up for a moody, ruminative and meandering tale about one man’s struggles with his love-life.
You can stream “Spaceman” on Netflix.
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