In 1977 Voyager II was launched into space, inviting all lifeforms in the universe to visit our planet. Get ready. Company's coming.
Heart-warming story of a visiting alien, knocked out of the sky by the trigger-happy US military, far from his rendezvous point three days hence, who takes the form of a dead man, press-ganging the man's grieving widow into chauffeur duty, as the US military machine gears up to track him down.
Excellent portrayal of the alien by Jeff Bridges, cleverly making it seem as if he is inhabiting a body whose workings are unfamiliar to him.
In a film underpinned by sentiment, Bridges manages to win our sympathies without falsely anthropomorphising his character. Karen Allen gives a luminous performance of a woman torn by contradictory feelings of attraction and repulsion. Good supporting performances by Jaekel as the head of the US military task force, and by Martin Smith as the SETI specialist.
Along the way, there is some fun to be had of the "stranger in a strange land" variety, with Bridges having to cope with a variety of new human experiences.
Parallels with the more common type of "alien" in the southern states of the USA are there for those who wish to see them. Bridges and Allen travel in the margins of society, hitching rides in the back of trucks and riding the rails at night like illegal immigrants who have just snuck across the border: a transient procession of diners, truck stops, motels, long dusty roads. The people they meet are the salt of the earth: generally kind (especially the waitresses), without thought of personal gain, though sadly not without a proportion of thick-headed red-necks.
Religious parallels are also present, but are included tastefully and appropriately, serving the story.
Special effects are relatively few, interestingly, strength of plot and acting performance being the primary sources of credibility.
- Rating: Full price
- When seen: 22 Feb 2011
- Where seen: Home
- More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia
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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.
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