The film follows a group of eight men and women on board the Icarus II, a ship sent into space to detonate a massive bomb which will reignite the dying sun after the first mission failed seven years earlier. This idea alone would translate into a fascinating movie but Boyle and Screenwriter Alex Garland aren't happy with just a run of the mill science fiction adventure. "We wanted to make the film as psychological a journey as possible" Boyle said in an interview with MTV movies. "There is the question about what happens to your mind when you meet the creator of all things in the universe, which for some people is a spiritual, religious idea, but for other people it is a purely scientific idea. We are all made up of particles of exploded star, so what would it be like to get close to the Sun, the star from which all the life in our solar system comes from?"
It's this extra layer of philosophy that makes this movie so great. It's not a story about a journey to the sun, it is a story about a group of men and women who encounter, for lack of a better word, God. Every weakness and fissure in the group, in effect, every sin is illuminated in the revealing light of the creator.
Boyle and Director of Photography Alwin Kuchler prove themselves to be revolutionary filmmakers creating imagery which rivals that of the Aronofsky masterpiece The Fountain. They have done away with the CGI feel of science fiction and created a realistic, organic environment on board the Icarus, which mirrors the claustrophobic anxiety of the film's characters. There is no jumping to light speed in Sunshine, and we don't see stars whizzing past the convenient portholes of the ship. Rather, viewers are treated to extended, loving shots of celestial bodies drifting about the ship. The effect is to create, in the viewer, the same sense of awe that is embodied in the characters of the film.
Sunshine is also commendable for its inspired use of light. It's not difficult to create an atmosphere of fear in the darkness, by playing on the unknown. However, Boyle manages to make us feel fear in the face of the exact opposite: the known. He manages to make the penetrating, all-revealing light of the sun the scariest, most disconcerting force in any sci-fi film yet.
Much has been said about the decision to reveal an additional protagonist in the third act of the film, most of it negative. However, I find it to have been an inspired move. Yes, it changed the feel of the film and had that change been unintentional, it would have significantly detracted from it. However, it is clear that it was not. The seeds for the inclusion of the fifth crew member are planted early in the story and his appearance triggers a change in Boyle's technique. The movie, which had been constructed of thoughtful deliberate camera movements until this key moment suddenly becomes a disorienting, frenetic mess. However, mess by no means indicates disorder. Every move by Boyle is carefully planned out to reflect both the physical reality of a trip into the sun and the metaphysical reality of the characters encounter with the source of life.
Plus, it is an absolutely necessary meditation on one of the possible outcomes of an encounter with the highest power: madness.
Boyle proves that he understands the psychological impact of film more than any other director out there right now, even going so far as to implant nearly subliminal pictures of the murdered crew from the first Icarus in between frames of the derelict ship, Exorcist-style. Most of the audience probably wouldn't even notice but for those that do, it is one of the most unsettling film sequences in recent memory. He evokes a certain style, reminiscent of M. Night Shymalan, in which even the perfectly ordinary conveys a distinct feeling of fear, isolation and anxiety.
Despite the genius of Boyle and Garland, this movie would fail without solid performances from the cast. Fortunately, every member of the small cast turns in an excellent performance. Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans, probably the most recognizable of the familiar faces on board Icarus, prove that they are multi-faceted actors capable of completely disappearing into their characters.
It's difficult to explain the effect that Sunshine had on me as a viewer. For much of the film, I wasn't sure that I understood what was happening but nonetheless I couldn't deny that I was bearing witness to something spectacular. Sunshine forced upon me the memory of what a great film could accomplish; it proves that there is unadulterated power in image and story. Unfortunately, it also proves that this world is never going to get it right when this modern masterpiece barely clears $3 million at the box office even though it probably deserved to be awarded best picture.
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