7th September 2019

Ad Astra – "the most realistic depiction of space travel in a movie"

Ad Astra is an upcoming science fiction adventure film produced, co-written, and directed by James Gray. It follows astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) as he travels to the outer Solar System to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of humans. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the very nature of human existence and its place in the cosmos.

"I always wanted to be an astronaut, for the future of mankind and all," says Pitt during the movie, which is set during the not-too-distant future at a time when "humanity looks to the stars". The special effects include some highly impressive visuals of the Moon's surface, as director Gray explains: "What I'm trying to do is the most realistic depiction of space travel that's ever been put in a movie and to basically say, 'Space is awfully hostile to us'," he said.

Ad Astra had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 29th August and is scheduled to be theatrically released from 18th September. It has received positive reviews from critics, with Pitt's performance receiving unanimous praise. Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland also star.

David Ehrlich, a reviewer for IndieWire, gives the film an "A" and describes it as "an interstellar masterpiece" that is "one of the most ruminative, withdrawn, and curiously optimistic space epics this side of Solaris. It's also one of the best." Similarly, Xan Brooks of The Guardian awards the film five out of five stars, calling it a "superb space-opera" and praising Pitt's performance, writing: "Pitt embodies McBride with a series of deft gestures and a minimum of fuss. His performance is so understated it hardly looks like acting at all." Variety's Owen Gleiberman praises Pitt's performance and writes: "Gray proves beyond measure that he's got the chops to make a movie like this. He also has a vision, of sorts – one that's expressed, nearly inadvertently, in the metaphor of that space antenna."

For more information, visit the official website at: https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/ad-astra

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