It is no secret that James Gray’s much anticipated “Ad Astra” will be doing the festival rounds in the coming months (Telluride, Toronto and/or Venice). After all, Gray has built himself up as a reputable auteur, having already competed at Cannes four times. Add in a star-studded cast led by Brad Pitt and, of course, festivals will not be able to resist. And so, the question that looms around “Ad Astra” isn’t about its presence in the fall festival scene but, rather, if it’s any good. The film has had several release date changes with Gray claiming that it was due to the complicated effects work the film decided to use. Regardless, “Ad Astra” is going into awards season with a lot of heavy baggage.
Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland and Jamie Kennedy costar in "Ad Astra."
Last we heard from Gray was his 2017 film "The Lost City of Z," a beautiful, surreal and ambitious movie. Gray has become one of the more interesting American filmmakers around. His sneaking into the mainstream started with 2007's "We Own the Night," but especially with 2009's "Two Lovers," one of the most underrated films of the last 20 years. I was iffy about 2014's "The Immigrant," but you can't deny there's a certain kind of beautifully realized classicism to Gray's filmmaking. He's making movies that are all, but, going extinct.