Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
Thanks to Civil War, Alex Garland is the man of the moment and it was nice serendipity that my review of Sunshine – a film he write for regular collaborator Danny Boyle – appeared this week back in 2007.
The film stars another man-of-the-moment, Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, and has a supporting cast that would now be unaffordable for anyone except Marvel. Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong and Chris Evans are all great but it’s the concept and execution that really grabs you.
The law of unintended consequences is perfectly illustrated in Danny Boyle’s wonderful sci-fi pot-boiler Sunshine. In 50 years time our Sun will begin to fade, threatening all life on Earth. A mission is put together that will reignite the Sun using “all available fissile material”. Asking for trouble, they call it Icarus. When Icarus I disappears before completing the mission, Icarus II is launched.
One of the definitions of madness is repeating the same behaviour expecting a different outcome and, sure enough, the crew are forced to deal with mysteries they haven’t trained for and every ‘solution’ just gets them deeper into trouble. Like the best science-fiction there is a metaphorical quality about the story that transcends the hokum and Sunshine is a stunning reminder that humankind is plenty smart enough to destroy the planet but not clever enough to save itself.
Also featured in that Capital Times review from a scarcely believable 17 years ago, the “simple-minded teen ripoff of Rear Window” Disturbia, Spanish black comedy Ferpect Crime, Zhang Yimou’s “stunning visual achievement” Curse of the Golden Flower, and Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver in Snow Cake.
Where to watch Sunshine
Aotearoa, Australia, Canada and UK: Streaming on Disney+
USA: Digital rental from Apple, Amazon or Microsoft
Further listening
Last Friday night I made my regular appearance on RNZ Nights with Emile Donovan and we chatted about Civil War (where I fear I may have dampened his enthusiasm somewhat), Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces (where I think I stoked his enthusiasm) and Out of the Blue (where enthusiasm was shared equally).
