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Though a Worthy Attempt, Spaceman Falls Short of its Virtues


You know, sometimes I still think back to a movie like James Gray’s Ad Astra and bemoan how nobody seemed to care about it. And I wonder, is there a place for truly thought-provoking space movies anymore? Maybe there is. Swedish filmmaker Johan Renck, who directed the much-acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl, would certainly like to think so -even if it may not be in the cinemas at this moment in time. His movie Spaceman aspires towards that same kind of resonance, framing the overwhelming existentialism of long space travel and discovery within the context of deeply personal notions of humanity. And to stretch ambition further, he does so with a giant CGI spider.
Spaceman is a movie much more abstractly admirable than actually good, but the latter fact does not entirely diminish the quality of the former. This is a movie that can’t quite grasp the big picture themes it suggests at, yet there is something worthwhile in its reaching for them nonetheless. It demonstrates a rare if unfocused curiosity and adequate creative ambition. Though I’m sure both are better achieved in the source material, Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař, where its more outlandish aspects might come across with greater cohesion, and not look incredibly silly.
The premise of this story presents a tricky needle to thread in a live-action movie. Spaceman is about a Czech astronaut Jakub Procházka, played by Adam Sandler, on a solitary mission to the edge of space to investigate an anomalous cloud -named Chopra. To do so, he left behind a neglected pregnant wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan). Out here though, his loneliness, regret, and desperation for connection are met by a strange creature -a telepathic spider-like being he calls Hanuš, voiced by Paul Dano -who helps him come to terms with these personal and existential issues.
The effect of the giant spider is really a make or break for this movie -a bizarre idea that has to convey a real depth of seriousness, to the point you care about his presence and fate. The very kind of element that has to be in the hands of a filmmaker like Yorgos Lanthimos, Charlie Kaufmann, the Daniels -even Miyazaki to truly work. And Renck just doesn't have the capacity for that. It doesn't help that after the initial horror subsides Hanuš makes for an underwhelming design. The VFX on him are adequate but not highly impressive, and the choice to give him a tiny mouth that moves when communicating with Jakub (supposedly psychically) is dull and senseless. His large empty eyes are impenetrable, his floating around looks very awkward. This is a creature who probes Jakub's mind revealing his trauma, evokes strong emotions by clairvoyantly showing him images of his wife’s miscarriage that he had not been there for, and challenges his own self-understanding. And yet any time the movie hones in on Hanuš the intrigue in any of this dwindles. The effect can't rise to the occasion, no matter how much gravity Dano puts into his voice.
And this is the very opposite of what Sandler brings to the table -throwing himself into the part as he has with every dramatic role he has played of late. The accent is initially dubious (all of them are, given nobody cast is actually Czech), but it doesn't get in the way of how well he plays this man on an incredible journey for humanity yet who is hollowed out emotionally by how much he has forsaken his personal relationships. His own process of rectifying that is played well. The only issue is it is glaringly conventional an arc -the kind that you might even find in any Adam Sandler comedy (specifically I was reminded at a couple junctures of Click). Ad Astra dealt with a similar overarching thesis on prioritizing human connection over the (unknowable) answers to great cosmic mysteries, but it laid that groundwork in smarter, subtextual ways. Here, Spaceman is very open about Jakub being just another overworking, obsessed and distracted husband and soon-to-be father. And it's harder to relate authentically to that.
The film sometimes leaves Jakub's perspective for Lenka's back on Earth -a narrative mistake that renders the story critically less subjective. It seems mostly to give Mulligan some purpose in the movie beyond the flashes shown by Hanuš, as she exposits her account of their failed marriage to her mother played by Lena Olin. There is some degree of depth here, and conflict arising from the mission  intentionally not communicating her desire for separation to Jakub, but it’s not terribly interesting on its own, and it’s not developed enough -detracting overall from the more interior character arc for Jakub. It works much better to stay fixed in his perception on this relationship and his own inadequacies, that he clearly doesn’t need her to confirm.
And it is the burrowing into his mind, the unearthing of the roots to his behaviour and actions, and the grander ways in which Hanuš opens his mind to the universe where the movie finds a semblance of its curious, exciting soul. Renck plays so much of this with a disorienting atmosphere as memories and feelings seem to intrude on the present in a gracefully unstructured way that reminds me a little of After Yang. Even though so much of it just boils down to this guy being a bad husband and wanting a second shot at it, there is gravity to the way this epiphany is relayed -and juxtaposed compellingly against the role of Hanuš and what will become of him. That sense of enormity to his emotional journey is reflected by what is ultimately discovered about this cloud anomaly when Jakub and Hanuš finally reach it -its implications so critical and vast it cannot sufficiently be reckoned with, and so it isn’t. It is a notion that only serves to heighten the intensity of Jakub’s resolution -which though powerful, still feels more than a touch overstated given the nature of this revelation.
Spaceman has a great, really solemn final beat that does almost make the digressions with Lenka worthwhile. And it is another instance where you can see exactly what Renck is going for, and in the isolated moment, achieves. But this movie struggles hard against details of its concept and the imperfections of its execution -nobly I would say, but not with any of the profundity it aims for. It is another great notch for Sandler though (Mulligan as well, who makes good with her little time and in spite of not attempting an accent); the ambition behind the movie is inspired. It falls short in the long run, but I do hope it is emblematic of the kind of direction Sandler continues to pursue.

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