critics overlook“Interstellar” for main oscar categories

The 2015 Oscar Awards Show premiered on Sunday, Feb. 22, and many people may have been content with movies like “American Sniper” and “Birdman” taking most of the spotlight, but for others like me, there was a bigger question on our minds: why isn’t anyone talking about “Interstellar?”

Sure, “Interstellar” was nominated for less exciting categories like best sound editing, sound mixing, original music score, production design, and it even won for best visual effects.  But the film was clearly overlooked in the long run by movie critics and audiences alike when it was not given a nomination for best film or best directing by Christopher Nolan.  Even worse was the movie’s lack of presence at the Golden Globes earlier this year, with only one nomination for its music score.

Now I will be the first to admit that the film’s stars were in no way deserving of awards for best actor or actress, but that is simply because “Interstellar”’s storyline did not require amazing acting from anyone for it to be a great film.  Matthew McConaughey seemed to be chosen simply for his charisma and his ability to carry a movie, which he did spectacularly.  Anne Hathaway comes in as a supporting actress who is essentially just Anne Hathaway in a spacesuit, and there is even a nice surprise visit about halfway through the movie from a huge movie star who will remain nameless to avoid spoilers.

When it comes to directing, don’t get me wrong: Alejandro G. Iñárritu definitely earned his Oscar for his directing of “Birdman,” which also won best film, but Christopher Nolan was completely robbed of a nomination for one of his best movies to date.  Nolan sent his viewers on one of the most epic cinematic journeys that any of them had probably ever experienced. 

Not only is the movie set in a not-so-distant future with “the end of the world” in sight for humanity, but it manages to accurately explore the thought-provoking science of wormholes, foreign galaxies, and black holes in a way that all audiences could begin to get their minds around it.

Movie critics on the website Rotten Tomatoes gave “Interstellar” a 72 percent, while it received an 86 percent from its normal audience.  Critics on the website use phrases like “bent logic” and “pseudoscience,” but for answers on scientific facts, I like to turn to today’s most popular and trustworthy scientist, Mr. Neil Degrase Tyson.

When asked in an interview about his thoughts on the movie, Tyson said he would rate “Interstellar”’s science an eight or nine out of 10 and tweeted things like “In #Interstellar: Experience Einstein’s Curvature of Space as no other feature film has shown.”  Yet Tyson completely glossed over 2013’s “Gravity,” a film that received countless awards and a 97 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, tweeting everything that was wrong with the film as he watched, such as the various issues dealing with gravity.

So who are these award shows really for? The answer seems to be “critics,” who have much more knowledge of movies than they do of science and logic.  The answer, though, should be “moviegoers,” a.k.a. the people who saw “Interstellar” whose minds exploded out of the back of their heads and all over their seats.

Kevin Callan can be reached at KC 765919@wcupa.edu.