52 Films by Women Vol 8. 16. I.S.S. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite)
Set in the
maybe-not-so-distant future, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s feature, I.S.S., is a confined space, zero gravity suspenser
about three Americans and three Russians aboard the International Space Station
who are given separate sets of orders when the world ignites below them into
World War Three. The Americans are ordered to take control of the space station
‘by any means necessary’. The Russians are told not to expect any more Uber
Eats. It is just as well that the crew on board did not rely on Dr Kira Foster
(Ariana DeBose) and colleague Christian Campbell (John Gallagher, Jr) for news
from home. ‘How are relations between our two fine countries?’ Kira might
reasonably have been asked. ‘I don’t know. I was too busy getting used to
powdered food,’ she may have replied. Nick Shafir’s script doesn’t generate
many laughs, but it does neatly play against our expectations. The film doesn’t
reach Gravity levels of intensity, but it maintains
interest and allows you to imagine what it might feel like to watch the decline
of the fragile world order from two hundred and fifty miles above sea level.
DeBose is blasted
into space fresh from winning Best Supporting Actress at the 2022 Academy
Awards for her role in Steven Spielberg’s version of the musical West Side Story. At least she didn’t choose a superhero
movie. We find out early on that she has no one to call back home. I would
contact AirBnB to check that the new tenants in my apartment hadn’t violated
their lease. She explains to the only other woman on board, Weronika Vetrov
(Masha Mashkova) that she was in a relationship with a woman who cheated on
her. Some women would go ballistic; Kira chose a rocket, coincidentally the
present that Christian gives to her when he is playing Santa Claus on arrival,
specifically a miniature replica rocket with a tough strap - the ‘same material
we use out here’, he tells her. Kira is not eight years old, but watching a toy
float in front of you in zero gravity has some entertainment value. Christian
has an object that is a cross between a Rubik’s Cube and a fidget spinner,
which of course at a key moment is used to cause a distraction, albeit an
awfully slow one.
Cowperthwaite is
best-known for her 2013 documentary, Blackfish, about the
tragic events that surrounded captive killer whale, Tilikum’s spell at SeaWorld
in Orlando, Florida. Cowperthwaite understands the psychological effects of
separation that lead to erratic behaviour. In I.S.S. we are
reminded that the Russians on board, Nikolai (Costa Ronin), Alexei (Pilou
Asbaek) and Weronika are scientists not soldiers. The men wince as we watch
them contemplate doing really bad stuff.
Before then, it is
mostly smiles as Kira and Christian enjoy a welcome meal, though Kira is a
little fast in loosening the cap on the bottle of rum brought out for the
occasion. ‘I am highly intelligent,’ she is quick to reassure them. When the
crew burst into song, Kira doesn’t join in, because the actor who aced Sondheim
doesn’t want to make others feel bad. Shown the cupola, Kira is invited to
experience the beauty of planet Earth, though she cannot help but be
unimpressed, having watched the Universal logo one too many times. ‘No
borders,’ someone says, adding a line about all living forms being knitted
together. If only we could see life from a distance and not close up - which, I
imagine, is the experience of most attendees at a Taylor Swift concert - then
perhaps we wouldn’t focus too much on minor differences.
However, the earth literally flares up, causing Christian to check on his daughters. Is California safe? Not the last time I visited. ‘We all have people at home we are concerned about,’ he is told. The captain on board, Gordon Barrett (Chris Messina, sporting a thick moustache, not so much Magnum P.I. as Magnum Ice Cream, that smudge of below-nose chocolate after taking a bite) takes command. Not before he receives the most passionate of kisses from Masha, which probably made Alexei and Nikolai feel awkward. Gordon goes it alone to fix the antenna to ensure they can communicate with folks on the ground, breaking ‘all kinds of protocol’. ‘Shouldn’t one of us go with him?’ Kira asks. ‘If you go, I’ll be left all on my own,’ Christian tells her, making the odds of the Russians taking over the Space Station more likely.
There are two other
imperatives. ‘You hear that hum,’ Kira is told. ‘That means the air supply is
working.’ If she doesn’t hear it, something is wrong. Ground control is also
responsible for ensuring that the space station remains in orbit. The station starts
to drop, for reasons that I didn’t quite understand – if the station floats in
zero gravity, it wouldn’t be pulled towards the Earth. Nevertheless, it is in danger
of crashing and burning unless it gets a reboot, much like the Marvel Cinematic
Universe.
The purpose of the
International Space Station is scientific research. You can do stuff 250 miles
from the Earth that you wouldn’t be allowed to at MIT, that is, inter-faculty
relationships. Kira brought four mice with her, which she quickly introduces to
zero gravity. Alexei, like Kira, a molecular biologist, is sceptical. The
prognosis for the mice is negative. The next day, after an evening’s upright
sleep in the bag – Weronika tucks Kira in, Kira observing that Christian sleeps
with his eyes open – Kira discovers that one of the mice has been killed by
another mouse. The scene harks back to Blackfish and the
whale-on-whale violence whilst in captivity. If you cannot rationalise your new
environment, Cowperthwaite says with some moral authority, then you freak out,
a salutary lesson when it comes to (human) migration policy.
The mouse-on-mouse
frenzy prefigures crew in-fighting. Cowperthwaite presents violence as a choice
rather than an instinctive response. Humans know what they are capable of and
can apply moral strictures. When Gordon checks out the so-called faulty antenna
while Alexei cuts the communications (as we find out later, replacing the cut
wire with a fake one) and Nikolai uses the arm – ‘I don’t need the arm,’ Gordon
advises through his intercom - we know what will happen. In spite of an
instruction not to look through the window, the crew does so. Gordon floats
past. Both Kira and Weronika want to save him, but Alexei and Nikolai, guilty
as fudge, assure them that he’s dead.
That leaves three
Russians and two Americans. We know where everyone’s loyalty lies, right? Not
quite. There is no rally round the flag or even rally round the last roll of
zero-gravity toilet paper. Weronika
approaches Kira. ‘I need to borrow your key,’ she tells her. ‘I’ll give you
mine.’ Weronika wants something from Kira’s drawer and also wants Kira to find
the samples of Node Zero, take the Soyuz and travel home. Node Zero is not a sugar-free
carbonated drink but a formula for radiation sickness. Shouldn’t the two
officers who were replaced by Kira and Christian have brought samples back to
Earth? Don’t think about it. Kira is super sceptical but after lying about the
orders that Gordon received, she tells Weronika about the ‘any means necessary’
instruction, which we later discover involves blow torches, a screwdriver, some
high-tension cable, and a knife. The instruction should have read, ‘any means
available’.
It would be a
spoiler to describe what happens next, except to say that Cowperthwaite does
not play the ‘final girl’ card. Alexei and Nikolai have their differences,
Nikolai being loyal. Kira is led to believe that Weronika might be lying.
Meanwhile, Nikolai explains that he has a bottle of vodka hidden away, strapped
to the bottom of a table. Well, if Alexei needs a dose of patriotism at 40 per
cent proof.
The best scene
involves Christian making a sandwich, spreading something on a piece of flat
bread. Who knew that the crew celebrated Taco Tuesday? ‘I’m not really hungry,
but I haven’t eaten for a day,’ Christian explains, before asking Kira, ‘do you
want one?’ ‘Sure,’ replies Kira, adding that she’ll need a knife, like the
sharp one on the work surface. Christian yields it reluctantly. Meanwhile they
are being watched. Talk about kitchen pressure. In another scene, one character
is attacked. Kira wonders whether they are alive. ‘I felt their skull crack,’
she is told.
In space, beads of
blood float upwards, not once but twice. There are also few places to hide,
Kira and Christian conceal themselves behind heavy bundles. Their discovery is
unsurprisingly swift.
The end of the film
is a reminder of what is possible. A Russian quotes the line, ‘we have to stick
together’, advice from Buzz. Not Aldrin but Lightyear, Pixar conquering the
great divide. The world can’t be saved entirely, but something can be salvaged.
Cowperthwaite doesn’t opt for a horror movie finish but something more hopeful,
a message that resonates. Establishing the protocols necessary to live in zero
gravity (including using footholds), she admirably does not buckle to
convention. This makes I.S.S., for all its genre trappings, a pleasure to
watch.
Reviewed at Cineworld Leicester Square, Central London (Screen Three), Thursday 2 May 2024, 17:30 screening
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