The Astronaut Farmer

[DotTheEyes]

View the trailer...

A fairly dull, never transcendent film, I'm not sure which audience The Astronaut Farmer is intended for as it's too slow-moving and dialogue-heavy for space adventure-hungry children and too clichéd and pablum for hip adults.

From my perspective, it almost undermines its own message ("If we don't have our dreams, we have nothing," as a character puts it) by following a protagonist so fixated with space travel he puts the security of his family and his own life on the line.

I'm not sure when exactly I stopped sympathizing with him, perhaps when he smashes a window after being refused a loan to purchase jet fuel from an underground dealer or when it's revealed he'd rather launch into space than pay for the ranch his family lives on, but I did. This is the sad tale of an obsessed bastard with a chip on his shoulder presented as a heartwarming yarn preaching the worth of fighting the good fight for what you believe in, and, consequently, no one in my filled-to-capacity showing cheered when the astronaut farmer lifted off.

Ground is made by the solid cast, including the wonderful, underrated Virginia Madsen, and the stunning, inspired cinematography, but, ultimately, this is a misguided film with a bizarre plot trajectory, common and bland themes, and no idea how odd of an oddball its hero is.

See October Sky, a truly moving film about following your spacey dream, instead.