Ad Astra
On fathers, sons, and the space between
Ad Astra looks like a science fiction movie, but it isn’t. It’s a story about human connection, and the gravitational pull between father and son.
In Ad Astra, we follow astronaut, Roy McBride, on a top secret mission to contact his father, Clifford McBride. The elder McBride left earth to lead a scientific mission in search of intelligent life. Roy has not heard from his father for 27 years. He was reportedly killed 11 years earlier. Now, Roy hears news that his father may be alive.
Mysterious power surges threaten earth and the entire solar system. SpaceCom, a military form of NASA, believes these surges may be emanating from the Lima Project, the ship captained by Clifford McBride to the edge of the solar system. SpaceCom enlists Roy on a journey to make contact with his father.
Clifford McBride is the most celebrated astronaut in the history of the space program. He traveled farther into the reaches of space than anyone. Roy gets regular reminders that his dad was the best of us. Roy reveres his father, but also fears him. Roy wonders what his father would think of him. How does he measure up?
Despite his absence, perhaps because of it, Roy has followed in his father’s footsteps. He has chosen a career as an astronaut. He is driven and consumed by his work. He has a single minded determination that threatens his relationship with his wife, whom we only see in fleeting glimpses.
Like a black hole, his father’s absence has an irresistible gravitational pull in Roy’s life. Roy is focused on a course that leads him away from those in his life who actually love him, in pursuit of a ghost who left him behind decades ago.
Roy’s story reminds me of my own. I revered my father growing up. I pursued goals that he would find worthy, in part because I wanted to connect with him.
My father died in December 2013. His absence still plays a role in my life now.
I can see that a little more clearly after watching Ad Astra.