Review of Solaris
Year: 2002 Reviewer: Chris Docker
This film pulls off a double whammy - it has sufficient intellectually stimulating material (of the what-is-reality and what-is-intelligence brand of sci-fi mind games) and it also has George Clooney's naked charms artistically photographed on more than one occasion. This means the ladies can spin on endlessly to us guys about what an interesting movie it is but break out into an enthusiastic glow when describing its more basic appeal to one another. Clooney goes off to investigate a space station where the radiations from the nearby planet turn people's dream characters into tangible reality. Enter Clooney's dead wife, now alive again (several times) in the curvaceous shape of Natascha McElhone, providing emotionally-challenging love (and lust) interest as Clooney struggles with the nature of reality. Directed in classy Soderberg style with ‘Space Odyssey' type music to provide lots of Deep Meaningful Moments - who cares if the storyline gets a bit fuzzy at the end? It's one of those Bring Your Own Meaning films, far too clever to be dismissed as popcorn fodder, and entertaining enough to make everyone feel they've got their jollies in respectable art-appreciation style.
Rating: 8/10
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