the final frontier: sunshine

In the future it won't be the presence of the sun that will kill us but the absence that will end our days in what could be a frosty deep freeze. However, an attractive group of people could save us as they do in Danny Boyle's latest film, "Sunshine." Establishing himself as a director not concerned with career-defining genre or a permanent parking space on a Hollywood lot, Boyle has crafted an eclectic melange of films ranging from the sublime "Trainspotting", feverish "28 Days Later", and the charming "Millions", that are imbued with a deeply working class British background and a film lovers aesthetic. Each of his films have a personal point of view as well as a specific look, mood, and tone, making each film that much more disparate and malleable to his talents. That's not to say there isn't some connective tissue that binds his work. Compulsion, addiction, and a world bent on moral decay are recognizable dots that can be connected throughout his just over a decade career; "Sunshine" is no different. As Capa (Cillian Murphy) so listlessly announces at the beginning of the film, "Our sun is dying", Boyle suggests that in the current hysteria of global warming, what if in fact the thing that might kills us dies out on its own and what are we left with?

The first image of the film is that glowing ball of energy and heat. Its come-hither allure begs for an intense gaze but if we absorb its luminescence for too long it can easily turn on us and rob us of our vision, blinding us to the other beauties that it illuminates and often shrouds. A United Colors of Bennetton-esque (Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, and Hiroyuki Sanada) crew navigates through the infinite wonderland of space in 2057, inching closer to the son to drop a bomb that would revive the dying son with a new burst of life in the form of a new star that would shed light on the otherwise frozen Earth. The crew's psychologist, Searle (Curtis), is possessed by the dangerous beauty, tanning him more and more and thus harming his skin and eyesight in the process similar to the sadomasochistic ritual many Americans put themselves through at the local tanning bed. I'm not sure when it became in vogue culturally to abandon paleness in favor of a faux crispy brown as if one has been soaking in the actual rays of the typically oppressive sun, but we are also a culture growing more and more fearful of the sun and its hazardous effects on our health, environment, and economy with more initiatives to control and lull global warming. The sun is a drug for Searle and for many of us that sickness will never subside as long as the sun exists.

That sickness drives the narrative into a polarizing climax that will definitely have you talking or guessing, depending on your suspension of disbelief. It also breathes a bizarre beauty into the film that is mostly filled with hot shades of radium green, space age blue, and fiery orange. Boyle and cinematographer Alwin H. Kuchler fill the screen with strokes of abstract fury that creates a trippy ambiance. Standouts include an unusual close-up of Harvey (Troy Garity) leaning into a beam of light to listen to a audio file suggesting they are not the only ones in space, a white hot room lace with the bloody strains of a crew member while 3D birds chirp in the background, and the thrilling climatic fight scene that appears to be smudged like a snuff film. The visual sumptuousness will be burned into your memory for sometime, regardless of whether or not you choose to accept the much-talked about last third act genre switch from intelligent science fiction/metaphysical drama to creepy horror film. Boyle is adept at horror ("28 Days Later" finale) but an unforeseen foe propels the action into an odd and head scratching direction that makes you wonder if it were at all necessary for Boyle to shift gears so late in the game without any reason or rationale. Boyle's consistent vision and attitude about the future, the environment, the world-at-large, and all the great things that make speculative fiction work so well on film are there but maybe much like the sun in the film, Boyle lost some of his reliable energy along the way.

"Sunshine" is worth viewing mostly to escape the other wise redundant and dismal offerings at the summer box office. It's uncompromising, difficult, and not for everyone, which makes it a perfect mid-summer morsel to chew on and discuss for days.