George Clooney’s ‘Midnight Sky’ Orbits Into an Unwatchable Space Opera [Review]

Review originally posted on 12.04.20

Based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel “Good Morning, Midnight”, George Clooney teams up with Netflix for the sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky” (Netflix, 12.25.20) in which he also stars. In it, Clooney plays scientist Augustine, who races to stop a group of astronauts, led by Felicity Jones’ Sully, from returning to a post-apocalyptic planet Earth.

The combination of Clooney and Netflix’s huge financial muscle should have resulted in this being one of the grander and more ambitiously succesful projects of the year, alas, don’t count on it. “Midnight Sky” is almost certainly another death nail in the directorial career of Clooney, who’s seen the last 3 movies he’s directed (Suburbicon, Leatherheads, Monuments Men) failed both critically and commercially. This is all rather disappointing, considering the actor’s first three films a a director were absolutely wonderful (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck, The Ides of March).  

However, having seen this expensive sci-fi opera, which Clooney describes as “The Revenant” meets “Gravity,.” it’s the tediousness of the execution, a sort of high-brow non-authenticity, that makes it one of the big failures of the year. “Midnight Sky” wants toi reach for the stars, but its execution is so convoluted and clumsy that the whole thing is almost unwatchable. There’s a pointessness to the story, as an abandoned mute girl shows up on Augustine’s ship. Why? we don’t really know, nor do we care. But it fits very well with the sombre, Tarkovsky-esque tone the dfirector tries to convey here. The problem is that, for all the intellect and ambition Clooney tries to inject in “The Midnight Sky,” it all feels too familiar and bland.

Going back and forth between the ice caps and space, Clooney seems more keen in directing actors who aren’t himself, which is why we spend less time with his character and much more with the crew of the spaceship. Whenever the film goes back to his character we are treated to meditative, but tediously rendered static shots of Augustine in contemplative mode, not doing much but sulking away at life or whatever existential thought he has for the day.

Score: D