After Sam (Kate Mara) crash-lands back to Earth, she’s urged by her high-ranking military dad (Laurence Fishburne) to lie low and rehabilitate in a swanky house in the woods. Separated from her family and recovering from her injuries, Sam is hell-bent on prepping for her next mission while suspecting an otherworldly presence from her last mission.
A neat Spielbergian space thriller. Whether it’s the constant fascination with space and the extraterrestrial or almost a direct recreation of Jurassic Park’s nightmarish raptors-in-the-kitchen scene, The Astronaut doesn’t shy away from its Steven Spielberg influences. But despite that generic title, The Astronaut is more than just an E.T. or a Close Encounters fan film. Powered by an intense Kate Mara performance and a psychologically grounded premise, there’s a lot to float around with. For starters, the film avoids space cliches by focusing more on the titular cosmic traveler on Earth instead of a galaxy far, far away. Returning from a near-fatal mission, Mara’s Sam rehabilitates while hiding her injuries and issues as she reacclimates, because she’s just that desperate to get back to work (her next trip to the International Space Station is scheduled for two months). Powered more by atmospheric tension in a lavish but empty home, you feel for Sam, resting on a sofa with five ice packs on her body. Even making an omelet is a chore, as the eggs seem to float in zero-gravity hallucinations. With real-life space astronauts serving as consultants, Jess Varley’s low-budget space drama offers some humanizing aspects that the genre would otherwise miss with higher stakes. For instance, Sam questions her own post-space reality on Earth and desires to embark on another life-threatening mission; the rift between her fearful husband (Gabriel Luna) and her young daughter only increases.
Kate Mara’s one-woman act makes up for a polarising third act twist. For all its human drama, The Astronaut also plays with empty spaces and flashing lights to create some decent home-invasion horror. Mara gets the show going with a performance that seems a bit too committed for the film, given the 360-degree swerve it takes in the ending. Some might sniff out the twist beforehand, while others might grapple with how quickly it’s introduced and conveniently resolved. Mixed views would seem natural for this third act, but that doesn’t detract from the immersive viewing experience. With the camera stalking Mara across what the director describes as an “Ex Machina” house, The Astronaut is a mostly serious, slightly campy genre feature that might delight audiences seeking a different kind of space movie.
An enjoyable space oddity with more ground control, less cosmos.
The Astronaut is streaming and available on VOD and digital.