“Interstellar” captures the grandeur of space as well as the minutiae of life on earth, and the tenacity of the humans struggling to survive in both environments. In Christopher Nolan’s newest film, humanity is threatened due to increasing crop failure, and the future is bleak. Space exploration has been all but forgotten as the struggle simply to make do on Earth becomes harder and harder. The Earth of this film resembles the atmosphere of the Dust Bowl, except with modern technology that is no longer used.

The main character of this film is former NASA pilot Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey. He is now farming and raising his two children after the death of his wife, but struggles with his new role on the failing Earth. After certain events take place, he ends up in contact with NASA again, which  asks him to pilot the mission that may lead to humanity’s salvation: a visit to a new galaxy by way of a newly appeared wormhole. He agrees to go, but it is at much personal cost, as he is leaving behind his two young children and doesn’t know when he will see them again.

The special effects alone are worth seeing the film for. The production team worked with renowned astrophysicist Kip Thorne to create their visual of the black hole central to the plot, and its rendering in the film is the most accurate depiction of the phenomenon to this date.  The emptiness of space and the otherworldly planets the crew encountered were breathtaking, and the plot had me equally enthralled. It was an interesting story that was a lot more realistic than most science-fiction in pop culture, and it carried an emotional depth to it that made me care about what happened.

The movie has some big stars, including Anne Hathaway, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, and a talking robot. The four astronauts that set out to go through the black hole, as well as all the other characters, are well-written, and human foibles play a part in the movie in a way that you wouldn’t expect.

The movie’s biggest strength was in choosing to tell the story not just of Cooper and his crew setting out among the stars, but also the story of his daughter, Murphy, and the rest of the human race left stranded on a dying planet. Her strength, as much as her father’s, is what moves the story forward. I can’t say much more without giving things away, but their relationship is the core of the film and has a lot of implications.

Overall, “Interstellar” is a story of the human spirit, and how even amidst the vastness of space and in the bleakest of circumstances, people will fight for the things they love. Even as the characters were spinning through a black hole and interacting with other dimensions, it felt realistic, because no matter the occasion, people will continue to act like themselves. Flawed, yes, but also brilliant enough to rival the stars in the sky.