The launch scene inInterstellarproves one of the most common criticisms of Christopher Nolan wrong. While Nolan has directed several acclaimed movies such asOppenheimer,Inception, and of course,Interstellar, his films areoften criticized for not having enough human and emotional moments. However, the scene in which Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) leaves his family and launches into space on a mission to save all of humankind proves that out of all ofChristopher Nolan’s movies,Interstellaris one of his most emotional.
Interstellarwas released in 2014. Alongside McConaughey, thecast ofInterstellaralso includes Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine. While Chastain and Affleck portray Cooper’s children as adults in the film,the launch scene takes place when Murphy and Tom are still children, and played by Mackenzie Foy and Timothée Chalamet. It is Cooper’s relationship with his children, particularly Murphy, that make the launch scene inInterstellarso emotional.
Interstellar’s Launch Scene Is Incredibly Emotional (While Still Being Sci-Fi)
In Interstellar, Earth Is Suffering From A Global Crop Blight
InInterstellar’slaunch scene, Cooper leaves his farmhouse after a failed goodbye with Murphy, who doesn’t want him to leave her. He says goodbye to his son and father-in-law, Donald (John Lithgow), before driving off. Nolan attaches the camera to the side of Cooper’s truck and points it back at his home to highlight how much he is leaving behind. Inside the truck, Cooper lifts up a pile of blankets in the front seat. Earlier in the film,Murphy was hiding under the blankets after Cooper told her to stay home. However, this time, Murphy isn’t there.
Cooper will never see Tom or Donald again, and will only reunite with Murphy when she is an elderly woman.
Hans Zimmer’s emotional score swells as Cooper drives off, and back at the farmhouse, Murphy runs out in an attempt to have a proper goodbye with her father. However, Cooper is already gone. Unbeknownst to any characters in the scene, Cooper will never see Tom or Donald again, andwill only reunite with Murphy when she is an elderly woman. Having this knowledge of the movie’s plot makes this scene even more tragic. As Cooper drives further away from his home, the countdown to takeoff plays in the background, and moments later, Cooper is launched into space, leaving his family behind on a dying Earth.
Interstellar Might Be Christopher Nolan’s Most Emotional Movie
Decades Pass Before Cooper Sees Murphy Again
When Cooper first agrees to partake in the mission across the galaxy to find a planet that could serve as humankind’s new home, he thinks he is only going to be away from his children for a few years. As a former NASA pilot, he believes he has no choice but to accept the mission so that he can ensure a future for his children. However, as the film’sstory develops and more time goes by than Cooper expected, mainly due totime dilation inInterstellar, the Christopher Nolan movie becomes far more emotional.
I’m Even More Disturbed By Interstellar’s Time Dilation After This Horrifying Calculation
10 years after Interstellar’s 2014 release, I am even more disturbed by the movie’s depiction of time dilation because of one horrifying calculation.
After spending too much time on Miller’s planet, where time moves slower, Cooper learns that decades went by on Earth, and his children are now fully grown adults. In addition to the launch scene, the scene in which Cooper watches the videos his children filmed for him over the years proves how emotionalInterstellaris.The work that Nolan put in to develop Cooper’s life on Earth pays off as the audience struggles with Cooper, who remains in space, far away from his family, and this showcases exactly whyInterstellaris Christopher Nolan’s most emotional movie.
Interstellar
Cast
From Christopher Nolan, Interstellar imagines a future where the Earth is plagued by a life-threatening famine, and a small team of astronauts is sent out to find a new prospective home among the stars. Despite putting the mission first, Coop (Matthew McConaughey) races against time to return home to his family even as they work to save mankind back on Earth.
