'Spaceman' by Johan Renck Review: The pain of hindsight

I am by no means a fan of Adam Sandler. I understand that here and there he can direct some effort to creating something a bit more meaningful and serious, having made bank over the decades using other people's money and funding his own production studio as a result. Can we really blame him? And it does seem that with age there is a degree of maturity as his attention is focused on more serious productions both in front of and behind the camera. While I am not a fan of the guy, I do believe that he is an actor that has a lot of talent. A person that genuinely does understand how to make a film, but for some reason just rarely does it. It doesn't surprise me much that there are more serious productions from him coming in recent years. Uncut Gems was probably the film that introduced people to his more serious side, and I think that was for the best as it must've sent a message to him that people do actually want to see him perform and tell more unique stories, without the endless comedy attempts. I'm willing to give Sandler the benefit of the doubt, I have zero interest in his comedic side, but I can admit a good performance when I see one.

Going into Spaceman, I had no idea what to expect from it. I knew that I would be seeing Sandler in a more serious note, but what this story would be about had managed to stay hidden from view for me, I didn't look at the synopsis online, nor did I read reviews on the film beforehand. It had a bit of a low budget appeal to it, in a very positive way that implies the return of Hollywood's simplistic manner of storytelling: simple locations, simple use of characters and cast, and a style that pertains to an emotional narrative that keeps you engaged despite the aforementioned simplicities. I like such films, where the film is basically in the hands of one individual, as the story unfolds with the runtime, feeling more like a theatre piece than a big budget blockbuster, it's a whole lot of fun this way. And Sander certainly doesn't disappoint. That is not to say the film is good, however. It definitely has its flaws, of which I will get to later in the review. That said, it could be a fun watch sometime when you have time to kill and don't want anything too overwhelming.

This post may feature spoilers regarding the film's narrative and events, read on at your own discretion.

Spaceman

For the most part, Spaceman is carried by Sandler's character, an astronaut on his own in deep space, sent on a mission that will take years. His emotional state appears to be dwindling as loneliness begins to set in. With family back home on Earth, the realisation of his past mistakes begin to set in, with the sudden and unexpected appearance of a large spider that is a celestial being that seeks to learn about humanity. This progresses the film forward with the idea of loneliness and how one may cling to the company of others, also incapable of learning as to why they feel that very loneliness in the first place. In the situation of our protagonist, he abandoned everything back at home for the pursuit of fame, being the one to reach a point in the solar system, at the expense of missing out on the growth of his child and the love of his partner. Of which even she starts to feel the exhaustion as a result of his lack of presence, coming to the realisation that things may never get better for the two of them. This changes things up a bit, the story begins to be more about the dialogue of the being and protagonist, their attempts to understand the choices made that led to them being there.

Sandler's character begins to see the mental torment of his actions, the regret of leaving his loved ones behind. It gives the film a very hindsight sort of feeling. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, that idea that hindsight is a form of suffering and self-torment, or that perhaps we should be more aware of our interests in the present before putting other things before what really means something to us. It's an odd sort of story given it implies that the exploration of the universe and the challenges faced almost aren't entirely worth the risk or emotional pain. Though I see it more as an exploration of human condition and how the idea of learning is met with the idea of some sort of sacrifice as a result. How priorities shift and how we still end up regretting things or perhaps giving question to such actions regardless of the outcome. I don't think the film is as smart as that, however. It isn't heavily implied nor clear what that meaning is, and this is more my own personal assumptions. Though the film certainly does encourage you to think about such things in the moment. As it begins to explore that more detailed emotional trauma of our protagonist as he realises what he has left behind.

One could go as far as assuming the being in the film doesn't really exist. That the spider is a mere extension of his mind, a realistic look at something that terrifies him. A spider being something that is almost universally feared and despised by people. Something that appears before us and gives us a discomfort of sorts. The being a visual representation of the challenges he's faced, the torment of his own mind through the fears and anxiety he now faces as he's left to think of what he has done or could have done differently in the past. That is something that's an interesting idea, that lack of knowing. It lingers on throughout the film unanswered, and I quite liked that. Giving a tease over the idea of whether the being exists or is merely his own mind that speaks and asks the important questions: why? What? When? How? Though in times Sandler's performance doesn't help contribute to the emotional rollercoaster the film should be, as we see pieces of the past and his happiness, the moments in time in which he wasn't entirely present of seeing the full context of something.

At times, Sandler's performance felt a bit flat. A bit empty. As if the character was simply ready to die and not really feeling the pain of his emotional travels through his own mind. There's a clear regret in his expressions, but not much more. I think it would've been better to see more emotional range in the character, to pull on the audience's heart a bit more in such moments of visual regret. To really see the suffering of that character, instead of relying more on a general numbness. I think Sandler is capable of such performances, as seen in Uncut Gems where we see his huge range in anger building throughout. I'm not sure what happened here, but it was a little disappointing to see that pulling the film down.

Particularly given how he carries the film, we need that range in emotion to keep us invested in the final outcome of that character. Especially with the film taking place within a very confined space, a set that isn't particularly large. Recycled environments. Films like these can be great if the performances maintain their strength. And don't get me wrong, the limited locations are actually quite impressive. The film is dark to somewhat hide the set design, but the lighting and cinematography are pretty good throughout. There were no faults or severe cheapness to any of it throughout. I would go as far as saying it was quite impressive how good it looked.

But the main question: is it worth a watch? Perhaps. I don't think it's a film for everyone. It has its flaws, and it felt a bit long at times. But if you don't have anything to do sometime, it may be worth the watch. Though it won't be particularly memorable.

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