The Midnight Sky

Starring: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Caoilinn Springall, Kyle Chandler, Tiffany Boone, Demian Bichir

Director: George Clooney

Based on the novel "Good Morning, Midnight" by Lily Brooks-Dalton

In the near future, the majority of earth's population has been wiped out due to a cataclysmic radiation event. After spending the majority of his career in search of another habitable planet, now terminally ill scientist Augustine (George Clooney) has decided not to evacuate his post at the Barbeau Observatory and live out his remaining days making sure no active space missions return to earth. The only non decommissioned mission that remains is the Aether, who is returning from one of Jupiter's moons to see if it was habitable. As his warnings to the Aether go unanswered, he discovers a young girl named Lily (Caoilinn Springall) who was left behind. Augustine decides he may have a better chance to contact the Aether by heading to the nearby Lake Hazen Weather Station, which may have a stronger antennae. Meanwhile the Aether crew (Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Tiffany Boone, Demian Bichir) (unaware of Earth's present condition) experiences communication errors of their own, which puts their return in jeopardy.

With the talent involved both in front of and behind the camera, it's unfortunate The Midnight Sky falters as much as it does.

Clooney is a very capable director even if his efforts in that arena are a mixed bag. (The good being Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, and The Ides of March vs the middling Leatherheads, The Monuments Men, and the atrocious Suburbicon). Working with presumably his biggest budget as a director, he struggles to keep the film engaging despite showing some good visual flair.

While I am sure it does service to its source material, I can't help but wonder if this would have worked better as a short. One half of the film (Clooney and Springall) is consistently engaging and while it is contrived, it's able to generate some emotional heft. The other half (involving the crew of the Aether) fails to connect on many levels and often grinds the film to a halt despite containing the more action oriented elements of the film.

Further adding to disparity of the two halves is Clooney's performance, which is excellent. I wish more of the film had revolved around him and his journey, especially once the connection between the two halves in finally revealed (it's not difficult to figure out). The rest of the film is filled with very capable actors who do their best to make you care. The only one who really succeeds is Felicity Jones, but it's hard to tell if it's from her performance or through its thematic connection to the story.

Despite Clooney's fantastic performance, the rest of the film fails to emotionally satisfy.

Grade: C-

The Midnight Sky is available on Netflix