‘Ad Astra’ Venice Film Festival Special Look: In Space, No One Can Hear Brad Pitt’s Existential Crisis
James Gray’s mysterious sci-fi dramaAd Astrais set to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this week, and in anticipation of that premiere, 20th Century Fox is unveiling a special look at the film. TheAd Astraspecial look focuses onBrad Pitt’s astronaut Roy McBride, who is sent on a mission to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones). But there seems to be more to this mission than a simple recovery, as tantalizing imagery and unanswered questions are peppered throughout the teaser. Watch theAd Astraspecial look below.
Ad Astra Special Look
ThisAd Astravideo reveals more than any of the past frustratingly cryptic trailers, while still telling us nothing much at all. The film follows Roy on a mission to stop an uncontrolled anti-matter reaction which threatens not just the world but the entire solar system. But nothing about his mission is straightforward, as his long-missing father (Jones) is somehow involved, as isRuth Negga’s mystery character, who can be seen walking down lots of corridors and looking very enigmatic (a true talent of her’s that she’s shown sinceAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).
In a scene reminiscent of Denis Villeneuve’sBlade Runner 2049, Roy answers a series of questions about his mission, only to grow more frustrated as the prompter refuses to let him leave. The rest of the teaser is filled with intriguing imagery of wild animals aboard spaceships, a decadent high-society party full of booze and drugs, an at one point, an apparent shootout on the moon. “I feel nothing. We’re here and then we’re gone,” Roy at one point responds to the robotic prompter, which suggests a much more existential drama thanAd Astra’s premise.
Ad Astraalso starsLiv Tyleras Roy’s wife, andDonald Sutherlandas a colleague of Roy’s father who also ends up going to space. James Gray also co-wrote the script withEthan Gross(Fringe).
