There was an article that I read a while ago in which Christopher Nolan was interviewed. He was asked about how he felt when people on the internet or in other places discussed the "plot holes" in his films. Nolan said he was aware of the plot holes but that he was surprised his films receive so much scrutiny on that end. With all due respect to Mr. Nolan, who is an incredibly talented filmmaker, he sets his films up to be scrutinized in that nature. In fact, he practically begs his audience to do so. How? by making his films with a self-seriousness and gravity which is found in almost no other blockbuster film. This is one of Nolan's strengths, that he makes blockbusters that can actually be intellectually interesting. It is also his curse because it means that his blockbusters are held to a higher level of scrutiny. He doesn't help matters by going around and comparing his latest film to "2001: a Space Odyssey" either.
So what of Interstellar, Nolan's latest film in which the director set his sights on the final frontier. To me this move has all the hallmarks of a recent Nolan blockbuster. It's full of ideas, Its visually stunning, and it has a bombastic score from Hans Zimmer. It is also on the long side, has a few story issues or "plot holes", and unlike his more recent work it doesn't completely stick the ending. Nolan deserves lots of credit for creating another inspiring spectacle that makes you think at the same time, the trouble is that this time around the film seems to weaken under the burden of its own intellectual weight. While watching I was completely enthralled and exhilarated but after the credits had rolled and I allowed myself to digest what had actually happened in the film, I kept finding myself searching for plot holes. I can't say that I've found many that I could point out but I find it interesting that I was searching for them. I think this might have to do with some of the thematic burdens the film places on itself. It is striving to express so much that I think the film doesn't fully "flesh out", either visually or through dialogue, the ideas that it is expressing.
The truth is that all this thinking happens after the film and the film-going experience itself is incredible. It's emotional, it's suspenseful, and it's also very human. There's even a little more humor here than in many of Nolan's other films. As a theater-going experience it's hard to beat the exhilaration this film provides. Even if the film may falter a little intellectually, it has to be recommended for the sheer power it has up on the big screen. I found the film viscerally satisfying but I don't know if it accomplishes everything it set out to. 4/5
