Sunshine (2007) - "Living For The Boyle" Series

Welcome to the LIVING FOR THE BOYLE review series!  Daniel Francis Boyle originally hailed from Manchester, England and his filmmaking career took off thirty years ago in 1995 with the release of acclaimed cult thriller Shallow Grave.  And ever since then, Danny Boyle (as he’s officially known) has carved out a uniquely successful career not only achieving box office success several times but also winning a few Oscars along the way.  During this time period, he has also become one of MY personal favorite directors, having helmed excellent ORIGINAL stories spanning several genres including children’s fantasy, science fiction, crime drama, horror, and biopic.  Over the next few months, I will be reviewing some of my favorite entries from his filmography in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel to one of his more successful films….28 Years Later which will be released in the U.S. on June 20!

It's the future, our sun is dying, and we have a crew of relatable scientists and astronauts on a mission to get to the Sun and re-ignite it so that our planet doesn't freeze.  The crew of the Icarus II includes a physicist (Oscar-Winner Cillian Murphy), a horticulturalist (Oscar-Winner Michelle Yeoh), an engineer (Chris Evans), a navigator (Rose Byrne), a sun-drenched psychologist (Cliff Curtis) and is lead by fearless Captain Kaneda (Emmy-Winner Hiroyuki Sanada).  This space adventure received strong reviews back in 2007 but sadly never received much of a theatrical release and was a box office bomb.  However since then, it has developed a solid cult following not the least of which is due to its iconic score from composer John Murphy.  Let's find out if this crew travels too close to the sun....

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

“Living for the Boyle” Series:

Welcome to the Living for the BOYLE series.  Daniel Francis Boyle originally hailed from Manchester, England and his filmmaking career took off thirty years ago in 1995 with the release of acclaimed cult thriller Shallow Grave.  And ever since then, Danny Boyle (as he’s officially known) has carved out a uniquely successful career not only achieving box office success several times but also winning a few Oscars along the way.  During this time period, he has also become one of MY personal favorite directors, having helmed excellent ORIGINAL stories spanning several genres including children’s fantasy, science fiction, crime drama, horror, and biopic.  Over the next few months, I will be reviewing some of my favorite entries from his filmography in the lead-up to the long-awaited sequel to one of his more successful films….28 Years Later which will be released in the U.S. on June 20!  (Music playing over)

SUNSHINE – 2007 Directed by Danny Boyle

Starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis, Hiroyuki Sanada, Troy Garity, Benedict Wong, and Mark Strong

Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller (Audio clip)

With all of this Oppenheimer-mania going on, it seemed to be good time to revisit the FIRST time Cillian Murphy played a physicist....an arguably BETTER physicist who actually saves the world no less. ;) But really part of what's special about this movie is that it was also in the middle of a crazy-good run by director Danny Boyle! As much as Chris Nolan or Peter Jackson sort of came to define the early '00's as dominant genre directors, Boyle had a genre-hopping run to to rule them all - from 2003 through 2010, he delivered great horror (28 Days Later), great and vastly underrated family holiday comedy (Millions), fantastic coming-of-age romantic epic (Slumdog Millionaire), great sports/true life survival story (127 Hours), and....great sci-fi space adventure/horror which would be this gem. :) 

And with this fully original concept (not really) he had both his main lead and the lone writer (future great director Alex Garland) coming back from '28 Days Later to deliver yet another gorgeous, visceral thriller with humanity also featuring great music.  Yes there are third act issues but the overall story which carries us through is still straightforward and compelling: it's the future, our sun is dying, and we have a crew of relatable scientists and astronauts on a mission to get to the Sun and re-ignite it so that our planet doesn't freeze. 🫡 And that's pretty much IT! Boyle (with Garland) of course throws in some complications along the way but they all feel organic, they have a top-flight cast of characters dealing with them, and the whole thing still effectively wraps up in just under 110 minutes. 🙂

And as strong as this cast is, it's even more rewarding 16 years later to realize that pretty much each of them was only going to get bigger and have good, varied careers. You have future Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh in one of her earlier full-on English language roles as Corazon the soulful horticulturalist whose emotional highpoint comes roughly halfway through the story. You of course also have baby-faced (future Oscar-winner too?) Cillian as Capa, the conflicted physicist who is kind of initially presented as the central upright hero of the movie though is always reluctant to act as such. There's also Fantastic Four-era Chris Evans as Mace, the alpha male engineer who is initially presented as the brash asshole of the crew....though kind of ends up being this story's Ripley as his character is eventually proven just about right about everything. 😒

Early career Cliff Curtis has quite the presence as Searle, the on-site (and much needed) psychologist for the crew who has nonetheless developed his own addiction to....sunshine, believe it or not. (Because it DOES look pretty cool to see his character staring endlessly from their observation room awaiting his next fix, wearing shades.) You have the previously mentioned Hiroyuki Sanada in the early days of HIS English-language career (after decades of impressive work in Japan and right after his stint in The Last Samurai) playing this movie's version of Dallas though with more intelligence. 

Oh yeah speaking of Dallas...and Ripley, did I mention that this movie riffs on the original Alien? Well of course it does....along with 2001: A Space Odyssey (and 2010 to some extent), and probably even some helpings of Event Horizon. Gratefully, Boyle does bring his share of post-2000 style and sensitivity to this incarnation retaining the lived-in pragmatic workplace vibe of that original Alien though with characters who are a bit younger and more self-aware. All of the technology feels sufficiently realistic and the characters are refreshingly 100% focused on mission, even when they don't all see eye-to-eye. Rounding out the cast, you also have young Rose Byrne (who's also great but looks like she's in an ongoing competition with Murphy to see who can look more doe-eyed), younger future genre stalwart Benedict Wong who delivers with a VERY tricky role, and Troy Garity who I KNOW I have seen in stuff since then....that's all I got. 

BOYLE-ing Point (Over his 30 year career, Danny Boyle has not only proven adept at mastering a variety of genres but he also managed to leave his personal stamp EACH time…whether that be through casting, music, and/or shot selection.  This is THE signature moment within this film when it is most obvious that we are enjoying a Danny Boyle joint!):

One aspect of Boyle’s approach to storytelling from the get-go has been his willingness to have his most fleshed-out characters – even those who on paper would be considered THE protagonist – to be allowed to exhibit their worst impulses, their most brutish behavior.  I’m not talking about heroes giving off anti-hero vibes with traits often inherent to their professions – a la the aggressive cop who goes too far or the lawyer who’s REALLY good at his job yet we see the sleazy lengths he’ll go to exact justice.  Nope characters who are inherently good but can still act like full-blown assholes….just because….because they’re human beings mainly. 

And this brings me back to Chris Evans’ Mace who like I said is initially presented as the “asshole on board” with one critical early scene….he’s having a physical altercation with Murphy’s Capa, but what’s the cause?  It’s simply because Capa spent WAY too long on their long distance virtual phone….to the point where he’s majorly PISSED that he missed his window to call back to family this time around.  Human mistake on Capa’s part, human response on Mace’s part….and what’s perfect (from both a character and screenplay standpoint) is the natural human resolution which we see to this conflict….even after the ship’s therapist has intervened.  It feels real, it’s raw, and it’s funny….it doesn’t have a huge impact on the story except to show that everyone on this extremely important mission to save the sun and the planet….even if they’re the best at what they do…..is still capable of being an asshole. (Audio clip) 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

As with every superior Boyle joint, the music IS the key towards this film's success and that’s helped by the return of previous collaborator, Liverpool’s OWN favorite son musically – outside of The Beatles, of course – composer John Murphy.  Before his impressive contribution to this film’s soundscape, Murphy’s most notable music was his haunting extended guitar durge "In The House, Without A Heartbeat" which REALLY sold what on paper was kind of an absurd climax in that mansion in 28 Days Later, (Audio clip) 

Murphy comes through again…. in the clutch here with a gorgeous stirring theme which pops up at critical points in this movie....The song is "Adiago in D Minor" and just hearing the gradual build-up of those piano keys while the captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada) is floating off that dish in space as he stares directly into the pummeling light and wind of THE SUN up-close...well that's at least enough for me to mitigate ANY third act issues. 🤗 Just a jaw-dropping SPECTACULAR combination of music and imagery.  (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Oh and of course there's Mark Strong (at the beginning of a pretty sterling run of genre villains which would stretch well into the 2010's) playing the mysterious Pinbacker, the beleaguered captain of the previous mission....just HOW much you love this film is actually proportional to how much you BUY his character. 🤔 And while I can agree with many that the overall execution of his character and how he joins the story is likely the weakest aspect of this movie, I DON'T think it sinks the movie. Upon first watch, the intentionally vague way he is presented to the audience - never really viewed with clarity - can be jarring but the more I rewatch this, the more it works for me.  He's basically an ill-defined specter, a ghost wreaking conveniently wreaking havoc on the crew and their mission in the third act.  Now is this THE best use of such an accomplished actor as Mark Strong….....it's not done as artfully as the rest of the movie but I still find effective enough to take this story to a satisfying AND elegant conclusion.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

And SPEAKING of that conclusion….it all pretty much culminates with one incredible image.  THE image towards the end of Murphy's Capa standing in awe amidst a wall of solar winds blasting towards him, glowing almost transparently bright amidst all the sparkles of the now detonated payload surrounding...the joy his character feels as he is as predicted now giving himself over towards becoming part of a star, becoming DUST in essence….well it's the kind of thing very few directors could pull off with such sincerity! It's what makes Boyle Boyle - despite bumps along the way, he almost always reaches his desired destination.

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

So yes back to Boyle….as a filmmaker, he has always cared about story but even moreso, his films have always soared most when they become extra-sensory EXPERIENCES....often driven by music AND inventive visuals which help to explain how the endings of genuinely grim (for much of their runtime) stories like Trainspotting and the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire both still FEEL as if they're ending on such invigorating notes.  And it’s the same way here too…..this is at its core a GRIM story comparable to Event Horizon and Alien in that you witness every major character die in pretty brutal succession.  Except in this case, there are NO surviving protagonists….and yet this one feels more hopeful.  We just saw our main protagonist burn alive, then we’re transported back to a cold, frozen ice-covered Earth….reprise of voice-over, just a slight change of expression on the face of his sister standing in that cold, the one lingering shot of sun spreading over the ice, and then….kick-ass credits needle-drop, BOOM.  On paper it might sound like tonal whiplash, PURE audience manipulation, yet it’s short, sweet, and effective – for pulling off an ending like this, Danny Boyle is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

As derivative as much of the plot of this film is and the clunkiness of the third act, this film remains a genuine banger and one of Boyle’s best.  Watch it on the biggest screen with the best sound…

Streaming on Prime Video

And that ends another ILLUMINATING review!