Sunshine

Sunshine
Director: Danny Boyle
110 minutes
2.39:1


What this movie needed most is an extended director’s cut. It is not a bad movie. In fact, it is a great movie. However, it could have been perfect.

Sunshine tells the story of a crew of eight scientists aboard a giant space ship. Their goal is next to impossible: recharge the sun so that it doesn’t collapse into itself. Failure would result in a black hole sucking in the entire solar system. Success would mean life continuing on Earth.



The premise is intriguing scientifically, sociologically and also psychologically. What director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland explored in the movie is mainly the psychological effects of this dooms day scenario, coupled with a healthy dose of science. What would have made the movie resonate more is the sociological perspective of how the human race is forced to deal with this scenario and why these scientists chose to be a part of this mission. The back stories may be haunting and illuminating. Hence, it would have been perfect if the film was just a little bit longer.

Otherwise, Sunshine is a stellar production. Production designer Mark Tildesley created a believable late 21st century space craft and filled it with the right things. Costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb provided the finishing touch with her subtly futuristic designs, complemented by make-up and hair designer Christine Blundell’s work. The visual effects by the Moving Picture Company, headed up by visual effects supervisor Tom Wood, is amazing to watch.





Capturing all of this is director of photography Alwin Küchler who made it all devastatingly beautiful. Accompanying the visuals are the work of sound designer Tom Sayers and the thrilling score by John Murphy and Underworld. Putting all of this together is editor Chris Gill, who maintained a sense of isolation and danger in every frame. Simply put, Sunshine is a visual and aural feast.

The cast is small and brilliant. Lead by Cillian Murphy who plays Capa, they crafted their silent scenes to speak volumes. Apart from Murphy, stand out performances to watch out for are Christ Evans as Mace, Rose Byrne as Cassie, Michelle Yeoh as Corazon, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Kaneda. Cliff Curtis as Searle, Benedict Wong as Trey, and Troy Garity as Harvey round off the main cast.




Sunshine in its 110-minute running time is a must-see movie, even though the cerebral nature of the story predetermined its destiny as a cult sci-fi film. Boyle and Garland did a great job at bringing to life this scientifically possible story. Hopefully just like what 20th Century Fox did with Ridley Scott’s Kingdom Of Heaven, Fox Searchlight will eventually release the extended director’s cut of Sunshine on Blu-ray Disc sometime in the future.