Steve G-2

This was an exquisite little "slice of life" story about some fairly ordinary people, that happens to revolve around a crash-landing of an alien spacecraft. Ben Kingsley flawlessly portrays a serious, thoughtful, somewhat single-minded gentleman who doesn't quite know how to deal with it, but copes just as he does with most of the demands of life. After all, what good does it do to make a fuss? There are no villains, no battles, and really not all that much excitement - a little bit toward the end - but at the same time no lack of interest. The interaction of the humans with the alien is essentially instinctive, and almost resembles how an animal lover relates to any other non-human companion - but with no condescension; or how a single, elderly person might deal with a young child whom he is obliged to baby-sit. Think of it as E. T. with mature characters, who are able to take things in stride, because, well - that's just what you do.

I have to call this a dark comedy, but so dark (in a way) that it's painful to laugh at. The inanity of most of the characters, other than the central team of honest (but far from perfect) scientists, is so extreme that it is tempting to just throw in the towel and say "this is silly" - but it is so convincingly done that you can't. You don't want to believe that almost any of the scenes could ever happen, but you can't quite deny that they could.

The characters are a wild mix, but they are all well done. Some of them seem so normal that you think "wait, that one doesn't belong in this story." Jonah Hill's character is so despicable, and Mark Rylance's so fake-spiritual, as to be painful to watch; it has to be intentional that each scene with them is brief, allowing some respite. Almost every little scene pushes the limits of credibility, yet it hangs together. The story continually oscillates from outrageous to poignant, to witty, with occasional moments of "oh, now we're going to see some common sense take hold." But it doesn't.

This is a strangely enchanting film. The key plot elements are not notable for logical consistency, but once you accept that certain aspects are not meant to be explained, the characters and their behavior are extremely engaging. Of course it helps if the viewer is a Beatles fan, but that's not really essential; what matters is the way in which certain central characters are. The various characters may be lovable, venal, or (most of them) just plain people, but the interplay between the central character (beautifully played by Himesh Patel) and each of them - and his entire world - entirely carries the viewer along. There are few films (Stranger than Fiction stands out as another) that rely so entirely on a thoroughly implausible foundation, yet do such believable and captivating things with it.