In Ad Astra, James Gray’s spellbinding first foray into the science-fiction genre, Brad Pitt stars as an astronaut who undergoes a mission across the solar system to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of his father (a fantastically taciturn Tommy Lee Jones) three decades earlier. The film’s title is taken from the latin phrase “Per aspera ad astra”, meaning "through hardships to the stars”, a motto used by countless organisations.

The action takes place in the near future. When a series of deadly power surges emanating from space threaten the future of the solar system, astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) is summoned by his superiors to help them solve the mystery. McBride discovers that he has been lured into the meeting under a false pretence when the subject of his long-lost father Clifford, a former astronaut, is suddenly broached.

Charged with a mission to pass on a message to his father, who appears to be linked to the power surges, Roy is sent to a now inhabited Moon which has been turned into a costly tourist destination thanks to commercial travel. From there, McBride must embark on a lengthy voyage to Mars to hopefully uncover the truth.

James Gray (We Own the Night, The Lost City of Z) presents a handsomely made space odyssey which reads more like an existential mythological adventure than the average film about space exploration. With a mixture of high-brow philosophical ideas and thrilling action set pieces, the film often feels like an elaborate waking-dream in which our hero has to undergo a series of unfathomably complicated trials.

Visually, Ad Astra does a fantastic job in replicating the beauty and vastness of outer-space thanks to Hoyte Van Hoytema’s (Interstellar, Dunkirk) stunning cinematography. Furthermore, Gray offers an allegory-laden and meditative study in loss and grief, which goes further in cementing him as one of the most dedicated auteurs of his generation.

Brad Pitt gives a powerful and commendably understated performance as a man who can’t seem to let go of the memory of his absent father. His disarmingly honest and visceral turn is further elevated by Gray’s decision to include an interesting voiceover device which is narrated by Pitt.

Ad Astra is a breathtaking exploration of space, but more importantly it is a film about sons and their absent fathers. James Gray has given us one of the greatest and most thought-provoking films about space since Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival back in 2016. To be seen on the biggest screen one can lay eyes on.