Direction:
Peter Chelsom; Cast: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt
Robertson; Story: Stewart Schill, Richard Barton Lewis, Allan Loeb; Screenplay:
Allan Loeb; Cinematography: Barry Peterson; Editing: David Moritz; Music:
Andrew Lockington; Producers: Richard Chelsom; Genre: Drama; Location: US;
Distributor: STX Entertainment; Running Time: 121 minutes
Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: V14
Genesis’s
CEO Nathaniel Shephard (Gary Oldman), proudly presents his brainchild project
and sends the very first team of astronauts to build a community in Mars.
However, two months into the journey, head astronaut Sarah Elliot (Montgomery)
discovers she is pregnant but the mission is not aborted and her condition kept
a secret from the public. Shortly after arriving in Mars, Sarah gives birth to
Gardner (Butterfield) but dies of complications. Nathaniel is forced to keep
the child in Mars given that his gestation period in space made him unable to
adapt to Earth’s gravity. Gardner’s existence is kept a secret and Nathaniel
secludes himself from NASA and Genesis. Sixteen years later, Gardner raised by
16 scientists, grows into a brilliant and resourceful but utterly bored young
boy. He secretly develops an online friendship with Tulsa (Robertson). Tulsa is
a street smart girl who has jumped from one foster home to another but is
cynical of everyone around her except Gardner. Meanwhile, Gardner discovers a
wedding ring and a video file of his mother with a young man and becomes
convinced that that man is his father. Kendra (Gugino), his mother figure on
Mars, arranges for him to be brought to Earth to be able to live a normal life
despite protests from Nathaniel. On Earth, Gardner makes his way to meet Tulsa
so he can in turn help him find the man he thinks is his father. Concerned with
Gardner’s inability to adapt to Earth’s gravity, Nathaniel and Kendra chase
Gardner and Tulsa as the latter make their way tracing leads about the man on
the video. As Gardner’s condition worsens, he and Tulsa fall in love with each
other. They end up in the house where the video was taken and before Gardner’s
body gives up, Nathaniel arrives to call for help and confirms that he is his
father. The movie ends with Gardner and Nathaniel back in Mars and Tulsa
training with Kendra who has legally adopted her.
Visually,
The Space Between Us is impeccable.
It provides the dryness of Mars, the coldness of the space shuttle and the
confusion of the different places Gardner and Tulsa travelled. But against the
clumsy narrative, it becomes impeccably dry, cold, and confusing as a backdrop
of a love story whose pacing results in a diabetic comatose. Butterfield and
Robertson are great in interpreting their characters but there is just no
chemistry. Oldman and Gugino are easily the best played characters but sadly,
the story is not about them. In fact, the storytelling wants it to be an
ill-fated story of star-crossed (literally) lovers but it just falls flat and
forced and moves better along the parenting line. The scoring is sickeningly
sentimental.
Lined
up against other “me against the world young love that cannot be” movies, The Space Between Us just provides lots
and lots of black spaces. Love conquers all—most teenage romance films build on
this premise as the lovers find ways and struggle through difficulties just to
be together. But in this film, the romance took a back seat in favor of
parental love and family. While difficult and painful, Nathaniel decides to let
his son remain on a planet so the latter may live. Kendra, despite being
biologically unable to bear children took parenting seriously with Gardner and
chose to share her life with Tulsa. A parent’s love knows no bounds. A parent’s
love fears no sacrifice. On the side, we see how technology, no matter how
advanced, can never replace a real face to face relationship. However, Tulsa’s
street smartness leads her to steal a lot and the implied pre-marital sex between
teenagers who just met for the first time after long distance friendship, which
might send wrong signals to the target viewers.
