Ariana DuBose, Chris Messina, John Gallagher Jr, and Pilou Asbaek watch from space as the Earth blows up. Now what?
Launched in November 1998, the International Space Station has orbited the Earth ever since, a beacon of peaceful collaboration between the U.S. and Russia. A small team of scientists, no more than seven, can conduct experiments in the vacuum of space, far away from the troubles in their homelands.
Thus begins I.S.S., as the newly-arrived Dr. Kira Foster (Ariana DeBose) and Alexey Pulov (Pilou Asbaek) receives a cheery welcome from the other scientist-astronauts. The Russians and the Americans each have their own side of the Station, but they mix in the labs and other common areas, including a windowed cupola, where they can cast their gaze upon 360 degrees of heavenly glory. During their down time, they eat together, play games together, and joke together.
They are all getting along just fine when something happens down on Earth that will change their lives forever: conflict between their nations. From their, their peaceful coexistence goes away and they find themselves in the middle of an action-thriller.
Nick Shafir’s script manifests a deeply cynical, offensively negative view of people, supposing that they would all immediately begin distrusting one another and seething with hatred when the planet is blowing up in front of their eyes!
That mistrust plays out especially in the actions of the two other members of the U.S. team, leader Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina) and suspicious Christian Campbell (John Gallagher Jr.), and the members of the Russia team, leader Nicholas Pulai (Costa Ronin), Weronika Vetrov (Masha Mashkova), and the aforementioned Alexey, who is more inclined to obey than to mistrust.
Like Alexey, Kira is overwhelmed by the events of the day, but quickly pulls herself together and starts taking actions in order to preserve life. Really, she acts like a scientist in the face of a mounting disaster, becoming cool and calm, even as the script requires her to become an action hero.
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is known for her remarkable documentary Blackfish some ten years ago; this is a long way from that, but the action scenes make consistently imaginative use of the limited spaces on the Station, a credit especially to cinematographer Nick Remy Matthews and editors Richard Mettler and Colin Patton.
Anne Nikitin’s original music score soars and swoops as needed. Geoff Wallace’s production design is quite brilliant; the Station looks like it should after the varying levels of chaos that erupt periodically.
The ace technical credits dress up the story, and every performance is convincing and feels authentic, even if it doesn’t ring true for me. I love science-fiction movies in general, so it’s difficult to resist the siren song of space when it looks so shiny.
Yet I can’t accept the basic notions that propel the entire story, and the filmed script provides no reasonable explanation or motivation for their actions, either, leaving I.S.S. an empty vessel traveling through the galaxy.
The film opens Friday, January 19, only in theaters. Get tickets now.
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Dallas Film Now. 