Eventually,
everything in space will be just as shabby as most of the Earth. It really will
not take long, due to the cramped spaces and closed systems. Such is the case
with the patched together space vessel piloted by Cee and her father Damon.
When it breaks down, they find themselves literally in a world of hurt. The
claim-jumping bad guys will also be a problem in Christopher Caldwell &
Zeek Earl’s space western Prospect (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
Cee
would really prefer to put down roots and lead a normal life, but her father,
an itinerant space miner and trader insists on pursuing one dubious claim after
another. He might actually have a line on something big this time, but they
will be cutting it close. They will only have a limited time to harvest a fabled
gem deposit before rendezvousing with the final interstellar transit servicing
these parts. Unfortunately, their crash-landing sets them behind schedule. A
fatal encounter with a couple of outlaws will be even costlier.
Despite
her reluctance, Cee must work together with the surviving outlaw Ezra, if she
wants to get back to human civilization. He is no boy scout that’s for sure—talkative
too—but there are even more dangerous people at large on the planet.
Prospect is definitely
playing with the archetypes of two beloved genres. Think of it as the Heinlein
juvenile version of Treasure of the
Sierra Madre, but in space, there are no stinking badges. Yet, it never
feels like a gimmick. Instead, there is a tragic inevitability to Caldwell
& Earl’s narrative, which pays off in a major way.
Somehow,
as Cee, Sophie Thatcher seems to mature before our eyes over the course of the
film. Pedro Pascal does some of his best work ever as the morally ambiguous
Ezra. They are both terrific together, totally selling the subtle evolution of
their shotgun partnership. Unfortunately, we can hardly see the space-helmeted Sheila
Vand portraying one of the third act mercs, but she still definitely came to
play. Andre Royo is also all kinds of creepy as a survivor who has gone
slightly nuts, in a Heart of Darkness kind
of way.
