The Martian finally put ‘science’ back into ‘science-fiction’. It’s not Apollo 13 (1995) meets Cast Away (2000) and neither is it Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) – it’s MacGyver on Mars. It’s the story of Mark Watney, an astronaut marooned on Mars with only a month’s worth of resources, and the next mission will arrive four years later, 3,200km away, and there’s the rub: no one knows he is alive and all communication is cut off. What to do? Just science it!
In his groundbreaking first book, author Andy Weir, who wrote it as a hobby, told the story with such painstaking mathematical and scientific accuracy that NASA put it in its must-read list. Interestingly, before The Martian became a publishing phenomenon in 2014, the award-winning audiobook, narrated by RC Bray released a year earlier, was already a hit.
Screenwriter Drew Goddard turned the book into a tightly-constructed script, quite a faithful adaptation, which is extremely well-dramatised. Every line of dialogue not only propels the story forward, but also reveals character, without any excess-baggage.
It must be declared that the film has got all the right stuff, first and foremost, because of director Ridley Scott, who at 77 is still among the most prolific filmmakers in Hollywood. The three signs of a master filmmaker are: clarity in articulation of ideas, originality in storytelling, and control in filmmaking logistics. Ridley Scott has given enough space to actor Matt Damon, as our indefatigable hero Mark Watney, to spread his wings widely and as a result, we get one of the best performances of his acting career.
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams’ score has futuristic techno-ambiance layered with teardrop motif in the piano (Track 3; “Making Water”); and euphoric strings dotted with heroic horn calls (Track 11; “Crossing Mars”). The music kindles sentiments but is not sentimental. However, the most emotional moment in the film comes during a song, Abba’s “Waterloo”, among the eight 1970’s disco songs featured (literal to the scenes).
The Martian is not about loneliness, it’s about togetherness, it’s about different people joining hands to solve problems. In the film poster, Matt Damon looks more like a soldier than an astronaut, and written all over are the words: BRING HIM HOME. As if it’s a plea to bring all the soldiers back home and end all wars. Let’s send men and women to explore new worlds, not to destroy them.
