Adam Sandler steps into a more serious, thematically driven role in Johan Renck’s Spaceman, but the allure of its premise and setting aren’t enough to maintain its intrigue.
The film, based on Jaroslav Kalfar’s 2017 novel Spaceman in Bohemia, sees Sandler play Jakub, an astronaut who is on a mission to collect particles from a strange cloud in space. While Jakub is motivated by his achievement of being Czech Republic’s most famous cosmonaut, he’s plagued by the loneliness of this mission and the troubles he can’t fix back home with his pregnant wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan). However, Jakub isn’t completely alone on this mission, as he encounters a spider-like creature (voiced by Paul Dano) that comes aboard his ship. This creature isn’t a deadly foe, though, but helps Jakub work through his personal pain and solitude.
Spaceman instantly gets into viewers’ heads with how it conveys Jakub’s isolation and loneliness. The lighting and cinematography from Jakob Ihre let the darkness of space creep into this sparingly lit and tight environment. The first glimpse of Jakub’s tired and almost dejected face leaves this immense pit in your stomach. Plus, there’s this question posed to Jakub early on that clearly cuts deep and holds a greater connection to his guilt than he’d like to acknowledge. The vibes of loneliness are honestly so strong that if Spaceman had been released at the height of COVID, it probably would’ve hit too close to home for some viewers.
Yet the film isn’t a completely dreary experience, as Renck allows for other genre elements and entrancing visuals to seep in. From comical ads and interactions with the Czech command center, to Jakub’s nightmarish visions, Spaceman also delivers some crowd-pleasing humor and horror. However, there’s nothing that compares to some of the stunning and hypnotic visuals in this film. The warped and wonky depiction of Jakub’s daydreaming is perfect for the type of cerebral sci-fi story this is. The purple dust that Jakub’s ship is barreling towards is gorgeous and compelling. The entire last stretch of the film is easily the most aesthetically striking, though. It boasts these trippy visuals that match the swelling emotion of Jakub’s journey and is impressively grand, colorful, and imaginative.
Not to mention, the design and characterization of Jakub’s spider companion is awesome. The creature’s look gives it a monstrous first impression that would send chills down anyone’s spine since, after all, it’s literally a giant spider. But with time, the creature becomes truly intriguing—largely due to the inquisitiveness, mystery, and friendliness of its personality. What really holds the character together, though, is Dano’s calming voice. Overall, Dano’s performance is great, and audiences will really connect with the creature’s ability to dissect Jakub’s inner self—which, in turn, brings out the best in Sandler’s performance.
It’s always special to see Sandler take on roles outside of comedy because it allows him to flex his greater acting ability. With films like Punch Drunk-Love, Uncut Gems, and Hustle, Sandler has proven that he’s more than just a comedic goofball and can deliver raw emotion on-screen. Spaceman continues this trend well for Sandler, as he excellently portrays Jakub’s personal isolation. Even before Jakub encounters the creature, there’s palpable anguish and emptiness on Sandler’s face. From there, he slowly brings Jakub out of his shell to dig deep into his fractured core. Sandler shows Jakub’s emotional depth well and pours out his soul in this great message to Lenka at a pivotal point in the film. This performance really emphasizes how much more talented Sandler is than he’s typically given credit for.
Unfortunately, Spaceman struggles to overcome the hurdles of its viewing experience—mainly that it’s really slow and relies on abstract storytelling that’s tough to stay engaged with. Oof, the movie is an endless crawl most of the time and can have a little too much happening at once. The plot revolves around constantly cutting between Jakub’s time in space and what’s happening with Lenka on Earth. While this does let us see Mulligan do what she does best—deliver excellent performances—the time spent on Earth doesn’t add much to the experience. Instead, it just breaks the story’s momentum and what’s shown there doesn’t make the themes have much staying power.
Frankly, along with these visions of Jakub’s past with Lenka popping up throughout, the storytelling reflects a certain style that’s tough to connect to all the time. The film’s more abstract, philosophical approach to its narrative gives it the feel of a Charlie Kaufman story—which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Basically, it admirably goes really big with its themes and philosophical ideas but isn’t the most forthcoming in its direction. So, it’s easy to become lost in and hard to stay connected to. Personally, despite it having meaningful moments that offer cathartic takeaways, it’s tough to feel like the messages were strong enough for the experience to be worthwhile. It feels like a film you must stay committed to—which is really tough in a Netflix environment and with such slow pacing—and the reward doesn’t feel as satisfying as it should.
There’s a lot to like about Spaceman—especially when it comes to Sandler stretching his acting muscles and the scope that Renck brings to the experience. But it struggles to leave a larger impression due to its storytelling approach that has good thematic power behind it but lacks engaging execution.
