Actor, turned writer/director Shelagh McLeod, makes her full-length feature film directorial/writing debut in Astronaut.
Her camera work was that of a seasoned director, but some of the scenes certainly needed some editing/cutting down. Although a great story, her inexperience shows in her screenplay with some plot and technical issues. At 97 min long, the slow pacing made the film feel much longer. Had the pace been faster or the length edited down, the story would have shined.
The cinematography was great, and the music/score perfect. Performances were good, but with a little more experienced direction, could have been great. Richard Dreyfus played his character well.
I'm surprised at the current low IMDb rating. Overall for a low-budget B-grade film - coming from a newbie writer and director, it was a thoroughly enjoyable warmhearted tale that will entertain the entire family. Thus it's a well deserved 8/10 from me. And if anyone thinks my review is fake, click on my username to see my 1000+ ratings and 600+ reviews, and read my bio on how to properly review/rate a film based on it's merits and production value.
