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THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE / (1999) **

Johnny Depp plays a NASA astronaut named Spencer Armacost who, while on a space mission, losses contact with Earth for two minutes. He and his colleague, Alex Streck (Nick Cassavetes), return home to their spouses, Jillian Armacost (Charlize Theron) and Natalie Streck (Donna Murphy). Bizarre episodes begin to occur with Alex, leaving Jillian suspicious of her husband's condition. As her husband's strange behavior increases, Jillian begins to question what really happened in those 120 seconds.

"The Astronaut's Wife," written and directed by Rand Ravich, poorly executes good ideas. We have imaginative and potentially suspenseful ideas with this film's concepts behind such happenings in two minutes as Spencer and Alex are in galactic boundaries. The gradual increase in Spencer's unusual behavior depicts effective suspense-but thorough introduction of the characters does not take place, nor do we witness the key events in which the rest of the move hinges upon. Consequently, "The Astronaut's Wife" does not work.

The film's first act is full of incidences, characters, and subplots. Clearly too many things happen too early in the story. Within the first thirty minutes the production attempts to develop two separate relationships, shows us the atmosphere of a teacher's workplace, something bizarre transpires out of earth's orbit, a decision is made to resign and move to New York, a suicide takes place, a character mysteriously dies, and probably more. I just couldn't follow the plot.

I liked the eerie, supernatural overtones located throughout the production. The film is smart to reveal the right amounts of information at the precise time. There is also a certain style to "The Astronaut's Wife," containing an elusive mood, a weirdly intriguing design, and some tense and unusual camera angles. The movie becomes more interesting as we reach the closing.

Charlize Theron has been in a lot of movies lately, but "The Astronaut's Wife" is her first leading role. She seems to have come out of left field in 1997 with the comedy "Trail and Error." Afterwards, she contributed larger performances in "The Devil's Advocate," "Celebrity," "Mighty Joe Young," and most recently "The Cider House Rules," and "Reindeer Games." Her role in "The Astronaut's Wife" is a little more complex than her past credits, excluding her enticing and believable acting job in "The Devil's Advocate." She presents the traumatized Jillian Armacost with the perfect blend of zest and tragic confusion.

Depp and Theron conjure a chemistry-rich couple. The movie very clearly takes Jillian's point of view instead of allowing us to know mysteries with Spencer. This stays consistent and focused, but sometimes leaves us pondering about unexplained events.

"The Astronaut's Wife" builds for an awe-inducing conclusion through revealing and intriguing dialogue and an omnipresent undertone. The film suggests a form of extraterrestrial is behind the deaths of several characters as well as the strange behavior of Spencer, but we learn the truth only in the end. Call "The Astronaut's Wife" an unusual "The X Files" episode featuring a cliffhanger conclusion and a supernatural climax. The movie must have appeared really exciting on script. If only more capable filmmakers would have claimed this production we may have had a real winner. Instead audiences feel disappointment and failure, potential is wasted and originality is underscored

This film's plot and story could easily be distilled into a wonderful 22-minute script for a Twilight Zone episode. Or perhaps a short sci-fi B movie from the 50s.

I thought the acting was fine, and the production values were superb. But my overall impression is that there were a lot of plot complications but not really much of a plot.

As noted by other comments, there were some good ideas lurking in this script, but the major deficiency is that those ideas were not developed and presented in an entertaining way, so as to keep the audience's attention.

I saw this film in a cinema when it was first released 25 years ago. I watched it again tonight, in case there was something I missed back then. On this second viewing, I find I didn't miss a lot.

It deals with a space shuttle in orbit and two astronauts leave their spacecraft to carry out a routine mission : to repair a damaged satellite when there's an explosion , later on they forced to go back Earth after NASA loses contact for two mysterious minutes . Astronauts Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) and Alex Streck (Nick Cassavetes) were outside the spacecraft when the surprising incident happened. But they aren't the same guys after they go back from a nearly fatal accident . Armacost seems to be unaffected ; however , his wife Jillian (Charlize Theron) , a Florida school teacher , feels weird activities and subtle changes in him . Over time , Armacost's unsettling mistress Jillian to be afraid of his strange behaviour . As his obsession knows no bounds and he becomes increasingly violent , putting Jillian's life in danger . As he begins to threaten her with possesive and violent acts . Egged on by a previous NASA employee (Joe Morton) , the fiercely strongwilled woman starts to believe that her husband is something else . Jillian also learns that she is pregnant , as time progresses she begins to feel like the lives inside of her are not of this world . Look at this "man" and Beware! There is nothing human about him except his desires! See The Thing Without A Face . How well do you know the one you love? Imagine the face of terror is the one you love . Witness the birth of pure evil.

Long in atmosphere but short on momentum and plot , the meandering script is fleshed out by nuanced performances . Ravich's decent filmmaking fills the antiseptic interiors of the marriage's Manhattan designer apartment with a terrifying menace , but regrettably the slow-burn intrigue is extinguished when too much is revealed at just the wrong moment . The picture blends Sci-fi/horror themes , taking parts here and there of extraterrestrial invasion as ¨Species¨ adding terrifying moments , as Charlize Teron is also very much like her beleagured wife in ¨The devil's advocate¨since everyone seems to think Jillian's nuts , as well as things get very ¨Rosemary's Baby¨ style . Charlize Theron gives a passable acting as a disturbing woman who becomes pregnant with twins from a strange astronaut , holding doubts if carrying extraterrestrial parasites , she is by turns , sympathetically unhinged and vulnerable . While Johnny Depp is really creepy and disturbing as an astronaut with dark purports. As Johnny Depp is more credible in quirky characters in quirky films .Remaining support cast is pretty good , such as Nick Cassavetes , Donna Murphy , Clea Duvall , Samantha Eggar , Tom Noonan , Gary Grubbs , Blair Brown , among others .

It contains a moving and nail-biting musical score by George S. Clinton with plenty of thrilling and suspenseful moments . As well as colorful and adequate cinematography by recently deceased Allen Daviau . The motion picture was professionally made by Rand Ravich , though with no originality and it has some flaws and gaps . This is his only film but he has written/produced TV series as Crisis , Second chance , Time tunnel and Life . Rating : 5.5/10 . Passable and acceptable Science-Fiction/Horror movie

Up to about ninety percent through the film, The Astronaut's seems to be on course to being something special. Leads Depp and Theron are very convincing in their roles and they are backed by a very competent supporting cast led by the always reliable Joe Morton (T2, Speed, Bounce, Paycheck, Smallville). The special effects and cinematography are well done and the pacing and building of suspense entice the viewer to unravel the mystery along with the protagonist. Unfortunately the revelation doesn't quite live up to the buildup leaving the viewer more than a little dissatisfied. Despite the letdown I still recommend this movie on the strength of the performances and on the fact that is a rare hybrid of the science fiction and thriller genres. 7/10.

There is scene in this movie in which a stroke is medically referred to as "a severe insult to the brain". A line which describes this entire film far better than any reviewer possibly could.

Obviously influenced by The X-Files, the first thing that strikes the viewer is the invasive use of tense mood music. If the Astronaut's Wife is opening a fridge there is a string quartet behind anxiously heralding a danger which subsequently doesn't exist. In a TV show like The X-Files it's a trick used to great affect because it's stylistic and the shows exhibit a degree of wit and imagination that relieve us from the pointless tension. Neither of those saving graces feature in this film.

The characters are poorly drawn, we're constantly told Spencer (The Astronaut) has changed since his last mission into space. We need to be told this so often because we're deprived of witnessing very much of his prior personality. And throughout the story Jillian (The Wife) never functions as anything more than a paranoid wreck, even before she suspects that something is really wrong.

Fans of Depp and Theron will be as disappointed as the rest of us. Johnny's flyboy astronaut is utterly out of place since we all know true spacemen are stiff and boring scientists, yet this guy is exhuberant like the barnstorming 1950's test pilots that never really existed. God only knows what hewas thinking with this part. And Charlize, throughout she never lifts above the catatonic. Literally, and I mean this folks, there is nothing more to her performance than the bags under her eyes and hers is the lead character, our heroine for crying out loud! That's beyond appalling.

As a thriller there is never a comfort break in this pretentious sci-fi flick that asks us to care for a character it's impossible engage with. It's non-stop, we're expected to be in the edge of our seat with every single scene, and if the plot doesn't supply the drama a 'bus' (that's the Hollywood term for a false shock) will. They are countless, and soon annoying. The same can be said for the way The Wife is mysteriously at the front of every crowd during key moments of action, which is one of the other cheap dramatic tricks overused by a really really bad director.

Until recently writer/director Rand Ravich hadn't been in charge of a film since this 1999 failure, you'll know why.

Fifteen years ago this was the kind of film that made a frustrated Quentin Tarantino decide he really needed to begin making his own.

It's diabolical.

I have to say, I always enjoy Johnny Depp's work. He is a chameleon; an actor who can take literally any role, who can step outside the boundaries of typecasting. And, his performance in this film is in no way weaker than any other character; it is merely a role that not many are likely to recall when asked about him. The film builds decently enough. Depp and Theron play a married couple, and a significant element of stress begins to grow on Theron following Depp's events during an orbital assignment given to his character.

I also like Charlize Theron; my one nitpick is how she seems to always find her way into these 'tormented woman' roles, like in the Devil's Advocate. Her skills are not necessarily hindered by this repetitiveness; I just find it a redundancy she needs to work beyond. Those of you watching this film for a horror-themed thriller are going to be mostly put off. This film really does not rely to such an extent the horror mechanisms; rather it builds the tension through a number of strictly dialogue scenes, using the plot to intrigue rather than scare tactics.

The ending - quite literally, the last twenty minutes, is the only place you're likely to see what may be called horror. I will not give away what happens here; you have to watch it and see. All I will say is that the ending left me anticipating more. That said, my overall opinion is this movie is satisfactory at best, not a true stand out in the annals of cinema history, but certainly not one of the poorest examples of the profession.

Before watching this movie, I was slightly put off by the other reviews.. I thought it was perhaps one of those movies that you can either love or hate but no one fully understands it.. but no.. it isn't the most brilliant movie ever, but it's good! the story is a bit simple, but entertaining enough! Makes you tense like any thriller should, makes you wait what turns out. Some compare it to Rosemary's baby but from the space, although I think I know where this comparison comes from, I strongly disagree. And I need to add that Astronaut's Wife in my opinion is a far more entertaining movie to watch than Rosemary's baby. Overall pleasant way to spend your time.. Just don't expect a masterpiece and you will enjoy it.

Spencer Armacost, played by Johnny Depp, and a fellow astronaut are lost outside their space shuttle for two minutes. NASA is alarmed and bring the men back. One dies and the other causes suspicion about his actions. Armacost's lovely wife (Charlize Theron)becomes pregnant; expecting twins. But something is strange, something is amiss.

This is a slow ride to an abrupt, teaser of a thriller ending. Depp and Theron have both turned in better performances elsewhere. The little sister, played by Clea DuVall, showed the most emotion. Joe Morton and Blair Brown were also featured. This had the potential, but missed the target on splash down.

I watched this movie yesterday, and I was hooked to its haunting story till the end. First I have to say the performances were excellent, Johnny Depp still surprises me with his variety of roles, I can't imagine he could have done the hilarious role of Captain Jack Sparrow after this scary role.

His eyes were acting more than any part of his body and you could feel the slight change in his character through the stillness of his eyes. Charlize Theron gave a better performance than her Devil's advocate role although they had the same criteria, the disturbed wife. But her genuine agonizing performance distinguished her in this movie.

I noticed the music was a major pillar in this movie, it was like another main character in this movie, the editing was great also especially the scene in the subway. The story was an original also, it had good turn ups and twists.

The movie had all the right elements in general and it certainly doesn't deserve a 4.7 on the imdb. I think the voters were greatly disappointed after seeing all those good elements destroyed by the cheesy and typical ending that only producers could have had a part with, in order to make another sequel.

The ending by all means was bad, it destroyed the originality of the story and the tension build up. I give it an 7.5 for all the good elements, it would reached a 9.0 if the ending was different.

This movie had a lot of the common Hollywood formulas that would make any movie successful: a lot of sex, violence and death, attractive actors, even the magic Negro (Google it).

However, it was lacking tremendously in certain areas. The acting was deplorable. I was shocked when I found out that Johnny Depp was commander Spencer. The storyline was awkward and the sex scenes were super awkward. The only positive thing I have to point out was the camera work. The soundtrack was strange too. They could have done so much better, but I could tell this was a relatively low budget film. Not anything I'll be looking at again.

Someone said Plan 9 From Outer Space had met it's match. I disagree. Plan 9 may have lacked a plot, had worse acting, a lower budget, worst in class special effects, etc., but at least Plan 9 From Outer Space was pathetic in a hilarious way. This movie was just plain pathetic. Very predicable, a weak plot supported by poor scripting, performance done way below the capabilities of the actors, and I'm not sure whether or not there was a director on the set. Maybe he wasn't feeling well and spent most of his time in the john. I watched this while taking a break from cleaning the garage. I should have kept working. Don't waste your time.

Greetings from Lithuania.

I saw "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999) few times since its release back in 1999, and i honestly have no clue why i saw it for a second time. It is perhaps because premise of this movie was good. I really liked the concept. But the storytelling, script and directing were poor. Even great actors in lead roles couldn't save this movie from being very forgettable. On a paper it sounded promising, yet reality wasn't kind to this project.

Overall, "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999) is a forgettable and very mediocre flick which is not terrible or bad, but it is very disappointing considering two great leads.

Move over "Plan 9 From Outer Space." You've got company.

This movie is simply atrocious. In fact, comparing it to "Plan 9..." is actually an insult to the memory of Ed Wood. Unlike Wood's movies, this isn't even enjoyable on a "so bad it's good" basis. "The Astronaut's Wife" is just so bad it's bad.

Johnny Depp, in the biggest mistake of his life, plays the too, too perfect astronaut husband of Charlize Theron. Depp never utters one line of sincere dialogue in the entire movie. Instead he wanders around like a zombie stopping every once in a while to say something oh so romantic to his wife.

Theron fares even worse. One moment she is playing the whimpering wife; the next she is barking out orders. ("Then take me to someone who can!" is one of the worst lines of dialogue I have ever heard.) It would be nice to blame all of Theron's ineptness in this movie to bad writing and directing, but I fear there is another reason. Behind that incredible beauty is a woman who simply doesn't know how to act.

I could go on blasting this movie, but why bother? Just remember this fair warning: Next time you're in the video store and you see this movie on the shelf, don't be fooled. You may really like science fiction, you may love Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron, but leave this turkey on the shelf. Let it slowly decompose and go back to wherever it came from.

Just thinking about this world-class DUD is making me sleepy...but before I pass out completely, I feel obligated to let all of you fellow cinema-buffs out there know that Mr. Depp also starred in another highly un-entertaining, non-thrilling movie called "The Ninth Gate." Avoid both these movies like the plague...I bet either one of these major-league mediocrities could put a speed freak to sleep in no time at all.

I quite liked this film. It certainly was different to what I had expected. but this proved to be a good thing. It is very slow building, but at the same time I found it really captivating. The plot unravels quite slowly, and in time what is unexplained to begin with soon becomes clearer. Its not so much the acting in this film that make it good, its more the cinematography and the feel and flavour the director gave to the film. There are some parts which after the film has ended still seem to be unexplained, or clearly don't make sense. Unfortunately they have paved the way for a sequel- although I think that would be a very bad idea. Not that much actually happens in The Astronauts Wife, but what it may lacks in story (being what is actually explained), it makes up for in atmosphere.

this movie is one of the most dull and boring movies ever. i kept looking at my watch thinking this movie must be over 3 hours long. it isn't, thankfully. in my opinion there is nothing redeemable about this flick. none of the characters are likeable. there is little character development. what little special effects there are, don't happen until the end of the movie. and they too are dull. don't waste your time on this flick at all. don't even read the book or rent the video. they should start fining people in hollywood for ripping people off.

Like several others, I'm flabbergasted at the negative critic and user reviews. It should have earned at least a 6.6.

Johnny Depp charms the audience as the dreamiest husband/NASA astronaut who has returned to earth after a mysterious ordeal labeled one of the most shocking incidents in NASA history. However, we see changes (are we really though?) in his personality unfold through the eyes of Charlize Theron, his unassuming wife. What really happened up there? Did they merely lose oxygen and die and come back to life? Is Charlize out of her mind?

I won't go into more. And word of advice, don't watch the trailer because it gives the mystery away.

The great appeal of this film is its brilliant production and photography. The innovative camera work and creative lighting produce a dark undercurrent of dread throughout. The plot is a predictable science fiction standard. But it is terribly well done. I could have done without the graphic bonking. But I guess that (and car chases) are now standard Hollywood requirements. Two bonking scenes. But no car chase.

This was the most horrible movie I have ever seen in my life! It was so boring and it dragged on forever and the end even sucked horribly. I don't know what johny depp was thinking when he agreed to be a star in this movie. This movie was a disappointment and only worth seeing if you want to go to sleep or waste money!