In Christopher Nolan’s operatic space drama, Interstellar, Cooper and Brand travel across Time & Space through a wormhole to find the next livable planet for humanity, since it seems global warming has finally brought an end to the food chains on Earth that have sustained us for millennia. And in Nolan’s future of Earth, the government re-tells history to its liking for students, only to usher them out of school as farmers to harvest the last of the agrarian means to fuel the end of our greatest civilization to date. The last okra harvest is upon us, and corn is the only crop left to sustain the end of our days.

Opening scenes appear to be influenced by Ken Burns’ documentary about the despair of the Dust Bowl, but the film quickly delves into the existential crises shared with Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity.

Matt McConaughey plays Joseph Cooper, a former pilot and Middle-America family man charged with the infeasible task of flying us to wherever is Next. But his Space Cowboy differs from recent efforts that give credence to “our last hope,” such as Tom Cruise’s drone repairman Jack Harper in 2013’s Oblivion. Harper must defeat The Machine, whereas Cooper must defeat Time itself. Humanity depends on it.

The role was originally written by Nolan’s brother, Jonathan, for Steven Spielberg to film and we can only assume this role too would have gone to Cruise. But McConaughey brings a more likable character to Interstellar, one that surrounds him with Logic & Science but puts the burden of Hope on him alone, as his Heart pilots our race’s endeavor to its next Home. He’s accompanied by Anne Hathaway, who plays Brand, the daughter of NASA’s scientific genius who executes her role brilliantly as the lone female crew member responsible for tying Cooper into the crew that consists also of an astrophysicist (David Gyasi), a geographer (Wes Bentley), and two talking robots essential to flying the spaceship Endurance.

The mission plays out like this: The longer Endurance takes to complete its mission, the more years pass by back on Earth; only if a few hours pass at the planets they explore, a few years pass back home. And Cooper promised his daughter Murph (after Murphy’s Law) — that he’d be back by the time her age caught up to his own. Murphy (Mackenzie Foy) studies a series of mysterious messages — sent from someone in the Future — and joins NASA, in spite of her father, who drove off in his truck and abandoned her on Earth for what at times feels like a Quixotic mission.

The Science behind the premise has come into question with critics across the board, but at least one prominent voice found it to be agreeable:

Yet if we go looking for science-based answers in Interstellar, we might be disappointed — at it’s core, the movie is about Love and it is about Family. It has a humanist perspective that, although common, rushes through to the viewers as the crew rushes through space; if you look hard enough, you’ll find a constellation of meanings in the astronauts charged with guiding us through constellations to our new Earth. In the end Cooper is able to follow through on his promise, and where Professor Brand’s megalomaniacal science experiment goes Wrong, Murph is able to make it Right through a humble precision of math and this focus on what a strong father-daughter bond might mean on an emotional level. 

The story emphasizes the art of endurance; going twice the distance on half the energy, and places the “Plan A” of the mission secondary to the overall meaning of what it means to find Home. Thematically, this is something many modern viewers can relate with. Millennials especially struggle to leave the old Order in order to find the “good life” in a brave new world full of technology, digitalism, and a previously unknown proving ground.

Matt McConaughey was simply brilliant, and I hope my fellow Texan finally achieves that ever-elusive Oscar because of it. While other critics point to whether or not this facet or that facet of the movie is scientifically accurate, I’ll point to the obvious: Christopher Nolan nailed the idea of an American Pioneer with this one, and showed us all how far-reaching the spirit of Americana really is. At the intersection of Love and Science, we’re able to find Endurance. Nolan’s story isn’t wholly original, but for audiences still “searching”, they can find solace in the idea that these work together in the end, and because of it we can all Survive.