Cert 12A
85 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language
I should never read reviews before I write my own but I have just scanned one which describes Eric Hayden's Astronaut as a 'mockumentary'.
Well, blow me down with a weightless feather - I hadn't spotted that there was any sense of comedy here at all.
In fact, Khary Payton is possibly the least funny of any lead character in a movie this year.
That is deliberate. Payton plays an astronaut who is so dour he makes Spock from Star Trek seem delirious.
It would appear this insular nature as well as his skill as an astronaut has led him to be part of a two-man 13-year mission to investigate sightings of life on one of Jupiter's moons.
And he becomes even more isolated when a short way into the journey, a disaster happens on board, killing his gregarious co-pilot (James Madio).
Thus, the mission is aborted and, for the next two years, he has to work with his commander on earth (Brian Baumgartner) to fix his craft so it is capable of bringing him home safely.
However, he has to overcome the mental and physical demands of hard work combined with endless hours of boredom.
It is this psychological element which makes the movie engrossing. I was consistently expecting the astronaut to crack but was on tenterhooks, hoping he wouldn't.
This requires Payton to run through a gamut of emotions and he does that with great effect.
I feared that after such a tumultuous effort the ending would fall short. But I should give praise to Hayden because it doesn't.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: very briefly
Overall rating: 7.5/10