If you'll allow me for a moment, I want to take you back to 2014, the year of Ellen DeGeneres' Oscar selfie, the Ice Bucket Challenge and – yes

10 years after its release, it's clear I was wrong about Interstellar – it's Christopher Nolan at his absolute best

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2024-11-23 14:00:03

If you'll allow me for a moment, I want to take you back to 2014, the year of Ellen DeGeneres' Oscar selfie, the Ice Bucket Challenge and – yes – Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic Interstellar.

As I sat down in anticipation of Nolan's latest, I wondered what was about to unfold before me. I had mostly steered clear of the marketing, with only its initial trailer (which reins in the focus to show a ravaged earth and a natural phenomenon closing in on Matthew McConaughey's Cooper) as my guide.

Almost three hours later, I left the cinema feeling cold, bemused, and, ultimately, disappointed. Despite its scope and outstanding IMAX visuals, I thought Interstellar was too long, overly sentimental, and – following on from the fit-to-burst The Dark Knight Rises two years prior – left me wondering if Nolan had lost his magic touch.

At 20, I barely gave Interstellar a second thought. Re-discovering it afresh 10 years later at 30, thanks in part to being more acutely aware of the passages of time, I see it now for what it truly is: Christopher Nolan's best, most emotionally affecting work.