Slingshot

Last night I went to see Slingshot at the Broadway because I thought the trailer looked really interesting.  Despite some flaws (and lots of negative reviews) I actually liked it.  John (Casey Affleck) is one of three astronauts traveling on board the spaceship Odyssey 1 to Saturn's largest moon Titan in search of natural resources needed by Earth.  He, Captain Franks (Laurence Fishburne), and Nash (Tomer Capone) awaken every 90 days from a drug-induced hibernation in order to communicate with Earth and keep the ship on course and running smoothly.  A year into the journey they awaken to discover that the hull of the ship has been damaged by debris and that communication with Earth is down.  Nash thinks the structural damage will make the slingshot maneuver, which uses Jupiter's gravity to launch them towards Titan, too dangerous to attempt but Franks wants to continue with the mission.  John is drawn into the conflict but he doesn't know who to believe because he suspects that the drugs used for hibernation are causing him to lose touch with reality.  He is having hallucinations of Zoe (Emliy Beecham), the woman he was involved with before the mission, and wonders if the others are experiencing similar side effects from the drugs as he spirals into paranoia and disorientation.  The tension continues to escalate with several plot twists and, while it does go on far too long, I was completely invested until the very end because I had to know what was real!  I liked the design of the ship because it really emphasizes the claustrophobic vibe of being in space with people you can no longer trust.  Fishburne is incredibly menacing and Capone is entirely believable as someone who is slowly becoming unhinged.  However, most of the narrative focuses on Affleck (who I usually like) and his performances is strangely static because his demeanor doesn't really change from when we see John in flashbacks with Zoe to when we see him suffering a psychological breakdown on the ship.  Still, I enjoyed it and I think it is compelling enough to recommend to fans of psychological thrillers.