SCREEN | Adam Sandler Ponders – Lost in 'Spaceman' on Netflix

"Your loneliness intrigues me."

Tango Entertainment

Comedian Adam Sandler stars in Swedish music video director Johan Renck's ponderous sci-fi drama based on Jaroslav Kalfař's novel Spaceman of Bohemia. His film adaptation, Spaceman, proves to be an absorbing but detached experience focused on the central character of a lonely Czech astronaut aboard an international space station all alone.

Co-starring Carey Mulligan as Sandler's estranged, pregnant wife back home, Kunal Nayyar as his main contact, and Paul Dano as the soft-spoken voice of an giant talking spider, the spare film uses its isolation to contemplate disparate ideas of our own existence. Adapted by screenwriter Colby Day, the stripped-down story emphasizes the sense of physical distance between Sandler's Jakub, who has been by himself for nearly two-hundred days, and everyone he left behind.

Despite a compelling dramatic performance from Sandler in fine form and taking the material very seriously, Spaceman fails to truly come together into a singular worthwhile effort. Its scattered nature as a melancholic science-fiction character piece feels thin throughout, even with the thoughtful artistry on display. Things never rise above anything much more than a contained tale about a sad and stranded astronaut pondering his life and fate.

Spaceman is available to stream on Netflix.


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