The loneliness of space travel as narrative device for isolation in human interaction is not a new idea for a film. Spaceman not only recycles this idea in a way that doesn't offer much new, but doesn't manage its pacing very well making for a very dull and dragging first act. Sandler is an astronaut on a solo mission who spends his time reflecting on his relationships back on earth. But the film handles its metaphors about as well as it handles its pacing. The whole thing feels rather rote and uninspiring.
The main issues I had with Spaceman is its handling of relationships. So much of its journey depends on building these relationships and the struggles within them but the film fumbles most of them. Perhaps most of this lies in the complete lack of chemistry between Sandler and Mulligan who just never create a relationship that feels honest. But this spills over as it saps some of the connection between Sandler and Dano's characters or Sandler and his dead father as well.
The film takes a turn midway to create more of an "adventure" story line but the stakes of this are still tied to our investment in the main character and his connections or lack of connections which the film hasn't built very well. The film takes a different approach to the ending than its source material, one that changes much of the point quite a bit. But I'm not sure it works based on how poorly the film does with its first half.
There seems to be something here that should have been more interesting but it just felt really dull. Maybe Sandler wasn't the one to pull this off. Spaceman just doesn't live up to its potential.
Spaceman
Starring: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, Isabella Rosselini
Director: Johan Renck
Writer: Colby Day
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