A troubled psychologist (George Clooney) is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet that makes you see things.
As much as I love Steven Soderbergh, I have never considered him to be a particularly emotional filmmaker. The way he talks about film combined with the way in which he covers a scene gives me the impression that he looks at a film as though it were an equation to be solved. Now I don't mean this as an insult (currently 16 of his films reside in my collection) but I am saying that while consistently beautiful and smart, his cinema always seems to hold me at a distance emotionally. It stimulates me mentally but tends to steer clear of my heart. The exception to this rule is Solaris.
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As much as I love Steven Soderbergh, I have never considered him to be a particularly emotional filmmaker. The way he talks about film combined with the way in which he covers a scene gives me the impression that he looks at a film as though it were an equation to be solved. Now I don't mean this as an insult (currently 16 of his films reside in my collection) but I am saying that while consistently beautiful and smart, his cinema always seems to hold me at a distance emotionally. It stimulates me mentally but tends to steer clear of my heart. The exception to this rule is Solaris.
Though based on the Stanislaw Lem novel, I don't think it is at all coincidental that Soderbergh chose to write the screenplay himself. If you look at his filmography you'll find that is hardly ever the case. And with the foregrounding of humans and faces over the tech and science of this near future wold, you cannot help but get taken in by all of the emotions at play. While I'm not exactly sure what in Steven's life prompted the creation of such a clearly personal work, I can definitely say that I am glad for it.
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