The launch scene in Interstellar proves one of the most common criticisms of Christopher Nolan wrong. Although Nolan has directed several acclaimed films such as Oppenheimer, Startit is clear, Interstellaryour films are often criticized for not having enough human and emotional moments. However, the scene in which Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) leaves his family and launches into space with the mission to save all of humanity proves that, of all Christopher Nolan’s films, Interstellar is one of the most exciting.
Interstellar was released in 2014. Alongside McConaughey, the cast of Interstellar also includes Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon and Michael Caine. While Chastain and Affleck portray the Cooper children as adults in the film, the launch scene takes place when Murphy and Tom are still childrenand played by Mackenzie Foy and Timothée Chalamet. It’s Cooper’s relationship with his children, particularly Murphy, that makes the launch scene in Interstellar so emotional.
Interstellar’s launch scene is incredibly emotional (although it’s still sci-fi)
In Interstellar, Earth is suffering from a global crop blight
In Interstellar launch scene, Cooper leaves his farmhouse after a failed goodbye with Murphy, who doesn’t want him to leave. He says goodbye to his son and father-in-law, Donald (John Lithgow), before leaving. Nolan fixes the camera on the side of Cooper’s truck and points it at his house to highlight how much he’s leaving behind. Inside the truck, Cooper lifts a pile of blankets from the front seat. At the beginning of the film, Murphy was hiding under the blankets after Cooper told her to stay home. However, this time, Murphy is not there.
Cooper will never see Tom or Donald again and will only be reunited with Murphy when she is an elderly woman.
Hans Zimmer’s emotional score rises when Cooper leaves, and back at the farmhouse, Murphy rushes out in an attempt to say a proper goodbye to his father. However, Cooper is now gone. Unbeknownst to any character in the scene, Cooper will never see Tom or Donald again, and will only reunite with Murphy when she is an elderly woman. Having this knowledge of the film’s plot makes the scene even more tragic. As Cooper drives away from his home, the countdown to liftoff plays in the background, and moments later, Cooper is launched into space, leaving his family behind on a dying Earth.
Interstellar may be Christopher Nolan’s most exciting film
Decades pass before Cooper sees Murphy again
When Cooper first agrees to join the galaxy-spanning mission to find a planet that can serve as humanity’s new home, he thinks he will only be away from his children for a few years. As a former NASA pilot, he believes he has no choice but to accept the mission to secure a future for his children. However, like the film the story develops and takes longer than Cooper expected, mainly due to the time dilation in InterstellarChristopher Nolan’s film becomes much more exciting.
After spending a lot of time on Miller’s planet, where time passes more slowly, Cooper discovers that decades have passed on Earth and that his children are now adults. In addition to the release scene, the scene where Cooper watches the videos his children have filmed for him over the years proves how emotional Interstellar and. The work Nolan did to develop Cooper’s life on Earth pays off as the audience struggles with Cooperwho remains in space, far from his family, and this shows exactly why Interstellar is Christopher Nolan’s most moving film.