Having read the reviews by
Corndog and
smirnoff I find myself in the middle. Pratt making the choice to wake Lawrence up is the core of the film and not one to be easily judged by a viewer. On one hand, I'm glad that there was time taken for Pratt to convince himself this is a good idea. He doesn't just see a hot blonde and wake her in the hopes of claiming her as a mate.
On the other, I don't think the film does a good enough job conveying the isolation and loneliness. At first I thought to do that the film would need to be much longer before introducing Lawrence, but Moon managed to hit those notes in less time. Pratt comes off like the first episode of "Last Man on Earth" which lessens the emotional punch of his decision. I noticed it when Lawrence first realizes her situation, she's bringing a lot more drama to her death sentence than Pratt did in all his time. The script includes thoughts of suicide, but Pratt does that scene and then moves onto the next. I didn't believe he had truly bottomed out. What was the biggest moment before that? Hugging the empty spacesuit? If the story were told right, there should always be the connection that instead of taking his own life, he chooses to doom someone else.
When Lawrence finds out, I was surprised to see it go all the way to her beating him up while he sleeps. (Again, I have no thoughts on if this is a proper reaction or an over-reaction. I believe this to be
her reaction at that point in the story, which is all that's needed.) It seems a lot of time passes before Fishburne shows up, but the film rushes to where you don't feel they've been alone together for more than a few weeks. I'm glad the script didn't have him save her life at the pool to then have her turn and accept him again, though Fishburne acting as a reminder that life is short is also a bit of a cheat. I do see a way where Lawrence comes around on her own, but it would be much longer. I also think it works if there's no hint of forgiveness until the doors are about to close on her suicide mission. Again, it's kind of there in the script, but the tone can't resist tipping that you know these two are going to make up before the end credits.
The Producton Design is a marvel. That Oscar nomination is well-deserved. As for the comments above about male gaze. It's there, mostly in the swimming shots. I'm surprised Lawrence never gets a close up while she's hyper-sleeping, which is both creepy and typical of male directors who want to convey a woman's inner beauty by focusing on her outer beauty.