“Do not go gentle into that good night; Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
This magnificent verse by the poet Dylan Thomas has been used by the protagonists in this fantastic film as the raison d’être for space exploration, and what a beautiful reason it is altogether. For man is bestowed with so many beautiful qualities that includes in no small measure the burning desire to go where no man has gone before no matter the cost, and in this case, to go because it is the only option for survival. But to do so fiercely, not ambivalently, makes it ever so much more remarkable.
For those who might view this as a mere sci-fi movie, I’d caution against rushing to judgment. Yes, there’s wild and fantastical imagery of interstellar space discoveries including black holes, alternate universes, and an exemplification of the mind-bending quality of the theories of relativity, but beyond that this is a story of love. The love of a father for his daughter and vice versa, the love of a son for his father and vice versa, the love of a sister and brother for each other, and the love for life itself. The kind of love that makes you give up everything you love for the sake of love. I beg your pardon for that seemingly mushy synopsis, but how else to explain why we do what we do.
McConaughey gives quite the performance, and is actually true to form with his Texas-drawl. As a side-bar, I wonder if non-native speakers of English might have to pay close attention to his speech for fear of missing it! The others are all big-names as well, and each adds to the overall drama of the story. I thought the musical score was good for the most part, but climactic more often than necessary.
I recommend watching it on an IMAX screen if at all possible, and to prepare for a long ride. In the end, the only one thing that survives us all is love. And suffice to say that the recipe for ensuring the survival of love is to never go gentle into that good night, and to always rage against the dying of the light. (Which is why I can’t bring myself to blow out birthday candles on a cake anymore, but that is another story.)
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