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Starring: Johnny Depp, Carlize Theron
Director: Randy Ravich
Genre: Thriller
Year: 1999
Rating: 2 / 5

I pride myself on being able to objectively criticize films without divulging too much plot, thereby permitting the viewer to make his own impartial judgment. This is no easy task with respect to The Astronaut's Wife, the dubious directorial debut by scriptwriter Rand Ravich. This is a film that could have amounted to something, one that could have delivered some semblance of substance during its first hour. What we have is a film that drags its feet for the majority of the film, before leaving the viewer hanging with an inconsistent final confrontation sequence and an incredibly ambiguous conclusion.

Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) is a United States astronaut, orbiting Earth with Alex Streck (Nick Cassavetes). While performing some routine repairs on a satellite, NASA loses contact with the two astronauts for a period of two minutes. What happened during these two minutes? NASA does not know, and the astronauts, when they return to Earth, are not talking about it. Three weeks after their return, Streck dies of a sudden stroke, leaving behind his grieving wife Natalie (Donna Murphy). Alex Streck has not been himself since the incident in out space, Natalie confides in Spencer's wife Jillian (Charlize Theron), just before ending her own life.

Around this time, Spencer decides that he cannot work for NASA anymore, and that he wants to move to New York to work for an aerospace engineering firm. It seems that this company wants Spencer to help them build a state-of-the-art aircraft, one which will redefine warfare as we know it. Reluctantly, a now-pregnant Jillian agrees to follow her husband to New York, even as she becomes more and more concerned about his behavior. A visit from Sherman Reese (Joe Morton), a former NASA employee, only heightens her level of concern. For Sherman Reese comes bearing information about the lost two minutes in space, along with some chilling information about the seemingly normal Spencer Armacost.

When dealing with thrillers, it is important to establish a certain level of tension, so, to some degree, I understand director Rand Ravich's approach with this movie. On the other hand, one cannot expect film fans to sit through sixty-plus minutes of nothingness in order to reach a payoff that is not that rewarding. Johnny Depp is considered one of the best young actors of the 1990s, but this role is one he might not want to keep on his resume. His character is rather bland, even near the film's "exciting" conclusion. Charlize Theron, as another film fan recently noted, regurgitates her Devil's Advocate role to the letter, and her character is just as uninteresting. The Astronaut's Wife is a low-grade thriller that fails to thrill, and that is certainly not a winning combination.

Cast:

Johnny Depp..........	Spencer Armacost
Charlize Theron..........	Jillian Armacost
Joe Morton..........	Sherman Reese
Clea DuVall..........	Nan

Certification: Rated R violence and language.
Running Time: 109 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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