At this point, it is completely unnecessary to encourage anyone to see this, it is already a success and the word of mouth on it has been so good that people are probably tired of hearing it talked up. Regardless, I do think I want to share a few brief comments and give you access to my own thoughts on the film.
This is a science fiction film, with an alien, so it may not sound that like a serious Sandra Hüllers film to you. While the premise is a little far fetched, the narrative raises some interesting questions and validates some moral standards that we as a species adhere to. The character of Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, is not a hero in the traditional sense. As we learn, his resistance to accepting the mission goes far beyond doubting himself and reveal a character flaw that might make us despair of human reliability. Eva Stratt, the single minded authoritarian head of the project to save the world, played by Sandra Hüller, makes a decision that while expedient and necessary, raises issues about autonomy and freedom which would normally be important but are dwarfed by the circumstances. Grace responds but the exigencies of his actions are maybe not as altruistic as we expect. In the end however, we discover a strength that the character has that he did not see in himself.
The only reservations I have are a result of reading the novel before seeing the film. There were moments and character points that I wanted to have in the film but could not be accomplished effectively without making the film slow down too much. Transitioning a book into cinema always changes things and that is simply the nature of the different mediums.
If you want more detail, you should check out the LAMBcast that is linked below. None of my criticisms are meant to denigrate the movie, and Ryan Gosling should get most of the credit for the movie because his performance sells the concept tremendously.
