A battle for control of the International Space Station is the focus of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s sci-fi thriller I.S.S. The infinity of space provides the backdrop for Cowperthwaite’s film, which restricts the action to the space station and the combatants to just six.
The six include three Americans – played by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Chris Messina (The Boogeyman), and John Gallagher Jr. (Gaslight) – and three Russians – played by Pilou Asbæk (Game of Thrones), Masha Mashkova (For All Mankind), and Costa Ronin (The Americans). Of the six, only DeBose’s character, Dr. Kira Foster, is an I.S.S. newbie. Four of the astronauts/cosmonauts are already on board the station when she arrives. And her traveling companion, Gallagher’s Christian Campbell, has previous experience living in the structure that serves as an orbiting scientific laboratory.
Kira’s no-nonsense attitude is immediately at odds with the sociable interactions of her fellow station dwellers. Her military background may play into it, or it could be she’s just feeling like the odd-man-out as the rookie on the roster. It doesn’t help that she’s having a rough time adjusting to the very limited, almost non-existent amount of private space, the language differences, and the lack of room to conduct her experiments on mice in zero gravity.
The rules regarding personal conduct on board the floating station are simple: pay attention to what you’re doing, respect the privacy of others, and keep your political opinions to yourself. It’s that last unwritten rule that leads to drama when political differences on Earth invade the confines of the space station.
Kira’s the first to notice something’s amiss back home. The first brilliant flash that lights up the sky is thought to be a volcanic eruption. However, Kira and her fellow astronauts quickly realize the light didn’t emit from a single explainable natural source. No, it’s obvious war has broken out on Earth as entire continents are engulfed in flame.
What does this mean for the three Americans and three Russians who, up until this catastrophic event, have been living in harmony? The answer arrives via secret messages from the American and Russian governments sent to their respective citizens in space. Both messages order their people to take control of the International Space Station…by any means necessary.
Tensions ratchet up as the full impact of what’s going on 250 miles away back on Earth hits the six individuals. The first shot of the I.S.S. war is fired when one side lies about the need to fix an antenna outside the ship. That lie shatters the peace on board the I.S.S. and leads to a rapid – and fatal – escalation in the battle for control of the orbiting space station.
Screenwriter Nick Shafir and director Cowperthwaite do a terrific job of setting up the dynamics within the space station but never fully flesh out any of the characters. We know little more about these people when the film comes to its riveting conclusion than we did when Kira and Christian arrived on the I.S.S. However, the situation they’re thrust into excuses the lack of character development since it isn’t necessary to get inside their heads to know exactly what’s going on or to understand why each of the six combatants deal with this extraordinary turn of events in the manner they do.
The terrific camera work by Nick Remy Matthews captures the feeling of claustrophobia and being trapped in a space where there’s no easy way to escape. Geoff Wallace’s production design is first-rate, and the score is effective in helping to build up the tension. Cowperthwaite’s direction perfectly utilizes the small space, incorporating weightlessness as yet another way to place the characters in hard-to-control, life-threatening situations.
When push comes to shove, normal items that help the crew function onboard the station – including life-sustaining oxygen – are transformed into weapons. And as suspicions grow and the level of paranoia increases, the characters confront meaty moral issues, including the extent to which loyalty to country should guide their actions.
There’s nary an alien in sight in this suspenseful sci-fi thriller. Instead, it’s humans and our inability to co-exist peacefully that makes I.S.S. not just an entertaining psychological drama but a scary – and realistic – cautionary tale.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for some violence and language
Release Date: January 19, 2024
Running Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Studio: Bleecker Street
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