Spaceman — Review

You’d be forgiven for thinking that a movie about Adam Sandler communicating with an extraterrestrial arachnid would be trying to invoke laughter, but Johan Renck’s SPACEMAN has anything but comedy on its mind. Adapted from Jaroslav Kalfař’s novel, Spaceman of Bohemia, the recent Netflix release is a cerebral and sensitive drama filled with melancholy and introspection. Sandler has never been more subdued as our protagonist, a depressed cosmonaut whose failing marriage plagues his mind with crippling anxiety and regret. His only company is Hanuš, a giant inquisitive spider, whose haunting yet comforting voice is perfectly provided by veteran career chameleon Paul Dano.

Renck helms his interstellar odyssey with plenty of gravitas, allowing cinematographer Jakob Ihre’s stunning visuals to steal focus on more than a few occasions. SPACEMAN leans on the themes of enlightenment and existentialism instead of a conventional framework, relying almost solely upon the considered nature of the acting performances for narrative propulsion. Sandler and Dano earnestly sell their symbiotic companionship, though the material doesn’t allow us to connect with Sandler and Carey Mulligan’s relationship with the same amount of depth. Credibly merging cosmic beauty with tactful emotional anguish, SPACEMAN ensures its characters remain distinctly human despite being far outside Earth’s orbit.