Solaris (2002)
Starring George Clooney and Natasha McElhone.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Kilgore rates it: 6 (out of 10)

DrRevenend had this to say about my rating for Solaris:

How the fuck could you give Solaris a 6 out of 10? What the fuck is wrong with you? That movie sucked so large the english [sic] language doesn't contain words to describe it. No wonder you haven't had sex in almost a year. You don't a fucking clue as to what you're doing.

I think DrRevenend might be on to something here. Ever since I saw Solaris, I have been going to Denver's hottest bars and clubs and using this pickup line: "What did you think of Solaris? I gave it a 6." No wonder I haven't had sex in almost a year, indeed.

The thing is that most people seem to agree with DrRevenend. Solaris bombed horribly at the box office, grossing less than $15 million against a budget of $47 million. But I'm not sure why. The acting is wince-worthy in parts, with George Clooney playing George Clooney and Natasha McElhone playing George Clooney's Hot Dead Wife, but Jeremy Davies turns in an excellent supporting performance, and overall the acting, direction, and writing aren't any worse than the average Hollywood movie, which I would have rated a 5.

I bumped this film's rating a point because I thought it addressed interesting ideas. (Also because Natasha McElhone really is beautiful. Probably you are thinking that I shouldn't rate movies based on the bone structures of the leading actors. Probably you have also had sex within the past eleven months.) The movie is set on a space station orbiting a kind of intelligent star that can "create" people based on the memories of their loved ones. The star uses George Clooney's memory of his Hot Dead Wife to recreate her aboard the space station. But is it really his Hot Dead Wife? Is it even human? Does it matter? The film confronts ideas about identity and asks if we are who we think we are, or who other people think we are, or if the self exists objectively and independent of perception. I'm not saying that Solaris addresses these ideas in a complete or satisfying manner, because it doesn't. But it takes on issues far weightier than nearly anything else Hollywood puts out -- Mona Lisa Smiles, anyone? -- and for that I'll give it the extra point.

So: not a movie I would really recommend, but neither does it suck "so large the english [sic] language doesn't contain words to describe it." Christ, DrRevenend, not even Wild Wild West was that bad.

+posted by Lawrence @ 12/24/2003 02:39:00 PM