Space Madness: Slingshot is Tense Sci-fi Thriller

Bleeker Street

3.5/5 stars

Hollywood seems to be of two minds when it comes to science fiction. Some filmmakers are interested in stories about the realities of space travel and the psychological and emotional tolls it takes on people, while others are content with making simple action movies in space. Mikael Hafstrom is clearly concerned with the former and his film Slingshot is well-acted and has moments of quiet intensity and emotional devastation. He's clearly going for something Tarkovsky-esque (i.e. deliberate and dreamlike in the fashion of famed Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky) and while it doesn't meet all of its goals, it's always nice seeing a story about mood and character rather than action set pieces on the big screen.

While part of a two-year mission to Saturn's moon Titan, astronaut John (Casey Affleck) begins to suffer from the effects of long-term hibernation and is haunted by memories of the woman he loves (Emily Beecham). His struggles intensify when the other members of his crew (Laurence Fishburne and Tomer Capone) have conflicting thoughts about the integrity of their ship; a conflict that may turn to violence before the mission is over.

Hafstrom's main concern is what long-term space travel does to a person's psyche, similar to Duncan Jones' Moon and James Gray's Ad Astra. While Slingshot doesn't match up with these films at their best, the film is still an interesting thought experiment. Most of the film is a two-man show between Affleck and Fishburne and their performances are expectedly strong, with Hafstrom making great use of the claustrophobic set design. The third act gives us multiple twists (some fairly predictable, others genuinely shocking) that may turn off some audiences but for those interested in tense, character-driven sci-fi, it's worth a watch.

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom // Written by R. Scott Adams and Nathan Parker // Starring Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Tomer Capote, Emily Beecham, David Morrissey, and Nikolett Barabas // 109 minutes // Bleecker Street // Rated R