A review of the new Netflix movie “The Midnight Sky”
Set largely in 2049, when a cataclysmic event has wiped out most of the Earth’s population, this sci-fi movie is located partly in the Arctic, where Augustine Lofthouse (George Clooney who also directs) is working as a scientist, and partly in space, where the craft Aether is returning from the discovery of a habitable moon of Jupiter with a crew of five including pregnant astronaut Sully (Felicity Jones) and her partner commander Adewole (David Oyelowo).
Both climates are hostile but in utterly different ways and, only towards the end of the narrative, do we learn how the two situations and the main characters are so connected. The pacing is often quite slow, but the film explores the most fundamental question for humankind – its very existence – and, if you’re not expecting anything too exciting or original, you’ll be quietly satisfied.