The Astronaut Farmer (2007)
Directed by Michael Polish
Written by Mark Polish, Michael Polish
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Max Thieriot
Release Date February 23rd, 2007
Published March 6th, 2007
Mark and Michael Polish are a pair of eccentric auteurs whose vision of the world is often detached and laconic. This quality is unique and gives them a signature style few directors can claim. It also, however, makes them a rather odd choice to write and direct a mainstream, uplifting family feature. Indeed, their latest film, The Astronaut Farmer, is an supposedly upbeat family story about a man who dreams of flying into the cosmos.
Charlie Farmer is a dreamer. He has been dreaming of being an astronaut since he joined the airforce at 17 years old. He progressed through the ranks quickly and was destined for NASA when a family tragedy called him home to his family's ranch in Texas and a life he never intended. Now in his late 40's with a beautiful wife Audie (Virginia Madsen), three terrific kids, Charlie has somehow managed to not give up his dream.
In his barn, Charlie has built a real life rocket. Stainless steel, a model of the classic first NASA space rockets, Charlie's space ship is nearly ready for launch when he comes to the attention of the federal government. The head of the FAA (J.K Simmons) is determined to keep the Texas farmer grounded. Meanwhile, Charlie's lawyer (Tim Blake Nelson), gets the media involved and Charlie becomes a sensation.
Written and directed by Michael and Mark Polish, The Astronaut Farmer has some of the Polish's usual inspired simplicity. The idea of an astronaut farmer has the same kind of quaint charm as the group of misfits from Northfork who cling to their tiny home even as the government plans to flood them out of existence.
The Astronaut Farmer shares with Northfork and the Polish brothers' debut picture Twin Falls Idaho a similar laconic, detached observant quality. The differences however; are stark and somewhat damning. Where Northfork and Twin Falls Idaho are character studies that thrive under the detached, observant style of the Polish brothers. The Astronaut Farmer is much too patently commercial to thrive under this kind of direction.
The Astronaut Farmer is so disconnected from any identifiable reality that there is a sort of loopy charm to it. Unfortunately the film simply seems too tired to mine that charm for more than just the premise and a quirky opening scene of Thornton in full astronaut regalia riding a horse over the plains. From there, the film drifts and bobs and never gains any narrative energy.
The roadblocks to the farmer's success are laid out succinctly (finances, the Federal government) but because of the laid back pace and manner of the filmmaking, these obstacles never grow to provide any narrative tension. Late in the film; when a false crisis is introduced it is so poorly put together it takes several minutes to realize what happened. This was likely a problem because the false crisis is the most energetic moment in the film and the Polish brothers simply didn't know what to do with it.
The Astronaut Farmer longs to be a simple mainstream family movie. It longs to be warm and charming like a lovable puppy. However, under the direction of the undeniably talented Mark and Michael Polish, The Astronaut Farmer is remote and detached. The Polish brother's attempt at taking their quiet, quirky observant style mainstream only serves to compromise both their style and this story.
