The Astronaut's Wife

Starring:Johnny Depp, Charlize Theron, Joe Morton, Clea DuVall, Donna Murphy, Nick Cassavetes, Samantha Eggar, Gary Grubbs, Blair Brown, Tom Noonan, Tom O'Brien (II), Lucy Lin, Michael Crider, Jacob Stein, Timothy Wicker, Sarah Dampf, Charles Lanyer, Gary Cervantes, Conrad Bachmann, Rondi Reed
Director: Rand Ravich
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

An intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks this stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack from extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communications blackout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prematurely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-killing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA official, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow-Rosemary's Baby haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie, but she did this role much, much better in The Devil's Advocate. Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favors with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. --Mark Englehart

Description

A woman becomes embroiled in a mystery after her astronaut husband suffers an accident and retires as a hero from the space program. When he begins acting strangely, she must decide whether his odd behavior is all in her mind, or if he is no longer the man she once knew.

Customer Reviews:

What Are They Up To?.......2007-06-09

I liked it! It's slow, it's hypnotic and trippy, but be warned: it has no ending. You know my theory about how only the first 2/3rds of a movie are interesting? This film runs with that. It is all about tension and atmosphere, so lay back and enjoy that, because there is NO PAYOFF WHATSOEVER. You never find out what the aliens are really up to, no one wins in the end, nothing is resolved. You have to be prepared for the fact that the build-up and tension IS the movie.

This movie has some very creepy and unnerving scenes, which I would say were similar to the tone of the first 3/4 of The Sixth Sense. With this movie you have to be prepared to follow the subtle changes in tone and atmosphere, and just go where they take you. I found the entire sequence where Charlize Theron initially finds out that something has happened on the shuttle to be very creepy. In fact much of the movie is very unnerving and slightly surreal, exploring the more sinister aspects of the idea that someone's DNA has merged with yours and now there's some new organism growing in your body.

I basically went to see this because I like Johnny Depp and thought [this is pre-Secret Window] that he wouldn't purposely do a movie that was just stupid. His performance is very convincing, as usual. He's very cocky and sexy toward the beginning, in particular. I also think Charlize Theron is a VERY good actress [and this was pre-Monster], and she proves that again here. Yes, this is another version of the role she played in Devil's Advocate, but I suspect that the director saw how good she was in that and wanted her to essentially redo it for this. I think people who don't respect her acting are speaking out of the sexist idea that a woman who is that beautiful cannot possibly be talented.

If you like very carefully controlled tension and great horror atmospherics, I would suggest you see this film. If you're looking for something along the lines of Species with slightly better actors, you're out of luck.

could have been so much better.......2007-05-07

This was a pretty disappointing movie. When I first read the description and found out Johnny Depp was going to be one of the main characters, I got excited. Unfortunately, his performance couldn't save a rather boring and slow-moving storyline. However, this was one of his older films, and was made before he turned into an extremely popular movie star. If only the plot was actually more interesting, I might have given the Astronaut's Wife a higher score.

The Astronaut's Wife - A lackluster film.......2007-05-03

"The Astronaut's Wife" is simply one of those films that I think I picked up due to an interest in Charlize Theron and Johnny Depp's acting careers more so than in the film itself. Having said that, this DVD still sat on the shelf for a number of years until recently. From a purely "psychological thriller" point of view, this film delivers but does so in a rather mediocre way. From a Sci-Fi, point of view, the film struggles in all aspects other than the basic concept of the plot.

In typical fashion, Charlize Theron delivers her part seamlessly. As with all the parts I've seen her play, she gets inside the role and plays it out extremely well. It's just too bad her performance cannot save the script or the director's vision of this film. I can't say that I'm a huge Johnny Depp fan but I can say that I have a passing interest in his film career and have definitely seen much better performances from him prior to and after making this film. Granted, the part he played here may have been a rather subdued role however; his interpretation of the role left much to be desired in his performance.

I cannot say that I've seen any of the very few other films that have been directed by Rand Ravich however, given this film's performance both in the theaters and in post theater market, one can easily see why he's directed very few films since. The score for the film was fitting per scene though.

The Premise:

Spencer (Johnny Depp) and his fellow astronaut end up out of communication for a mere two minutes while working on a satellite. Upon their return to Earth, those two minutes become pivotal in the effect it has on Spencer and Jillian's (Charlize Theron) lives and the lives of his fellow astronaut and his wife played by the ever beautiful Donna Murphy.

Overall, I would recommend this film only in the light that if you're a fan of either Johnny Depp or Charlize Theron and wishing to review their entire bodies of work. Beyond that reason, the film fails to deliver in either genre that it was reaching for. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:
None

Poor Johnny.......2007-04-17

I absolutely LOVE JD and would probably pay money to see him read a phone book. After seeing this horrible movie, watching him recite the Yellow Pages would have been highly preferable. Even Depp's talents and sex-appeal could not save this stinker of a movie. I have to rate it a 2 simply b/c Johnny was in it- lol!

He does it again..........2007-01-16

I have seen bad reviews for this movie but personally, I think it is great! I am a huge Johnny Depp fan and he is a truly magnificant actor. Every time I watch one of his movies, I am left in aw at his wonderous talent...and he did it again. I was literally on the edge of my seat for this one. It is suspensful, sexy, scary, and all around a great movie. Charlize Theron couldn't have done a better job! This is the type of movie you can watch again...even though you know the outcome, it doesn't get old. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Astronauts Wife

The Astronaut's Wife/Don Juan DeMarco
Starring: New Line Double Feature
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Ninth Gate
Bed of Roses/Pump up the Volume
The Man Who Cried
Nick of Time
From Hell (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B0009UZG0K
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Customer Reviews:

Astronauts Wife.......2005-08-13

Iv'e seen The Astronauts Wife which is a remake of an old sci fi classic with Tom Tryon. This remake is one the worst movies I have ever seen. The original is much better. The acting in the remake is awful and there is literally no action or suspense to speak of. Buy at your own risk.

Average customer rating:

Weird combination

The Astronaut's Wife/Soldier
Starring: Johnny Depp , Charlize Theron , Joe Morton , Clea DuVall , and Donna Murphy
Director: Rand Ravich , and Paul W.S. Anderson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0000DC157
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Customer Reviews:

Weird combination.......2004-09-01

Astronaut's Wife
No depth

An astronaut has some sort of weird experience in space. He comes back acting funny. Does any one notice? Not until he really goes off the deep end. How will it all end?

Just because this is one-dimensional and predictable does not mean you can not still say "stay in the car." And you don't think having twins is spooky? Rosemary's Baby never grew up to be a pilot. Yeah, and such common names like Spencer Armacost; what ever happened to Igor or Jeffery Dhalmer? They put in quiet space so you have time to think about what happened (or did not happen) and you call it dull. Do you really think that they would intentionally make a bad movie?

--------------------------------
Soldier
Entertaining with a tad of morality

It is interesting how we use Sci-fi to mask or enhance moral tales.

Sergeant Todd "the old model soldier" finds himself protecting the protectless:
Todd is the old model and disposed of in a trash heap that is occupied by kindly lowly people.

They find them self's befriending the befreindless:
The people have to invest time in Todd. But will he be able to change or at least understand their society? Worse still will he become a bad influence?

And together they defeat the defeatless:
Todd's new found friends, after being aggravated by his aggressiveness, snub him. Soon they find that they need his protection. Looks the planet is going to be used for war games and they are the vermin to be distorted.

Will and can Todd help?

Kurt Russell as Todd, takes this from what could have been a two dimensional future shoot-um-up and makes it a multidimensional story that one can relate to.

Average customer rating:

What Are They Up To?
could have been so much better
The Astronaut's Wife - A lackluster film
Poor Johnny
He does it again...

The Astronaut's Wife [Region 2]
Starring: Johnny Depp , Charlize Theron , Joe Morton , Clea DuVall , and Donna Murphy
Director: Rand Ravich
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Nick of Time
The Ninth Gate
The Man Who Cried
Don Juan DeMarco
From Hell (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00004T8VG

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

What Are They Up To?.......2007-06-09

could have been so much better.......2007-05-07

The Astronaut's Wife - A lackluster film.......2007-05-03

Poor Johnny.......2007-04-17

He does it again..........2007-01-16

Average customer rating:

Darkly Provocative
No depth but fun for kibitzing

The Astronaut's Wife [Region 2]
Starring: Johnny Depp , Charlize Theron , Joe Morton , Clea DuVall , and Donna Murphy
Director: Rand Ravich
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Customer Reviews:

Darkly Provocative.......2006-06-17

I really like this film. This film is slow and deliberate. Johnny Depp is such an interesting actor you become immersed in the film just on the performance of his character. This is really modern filmmaking based on old-fashioned story telling. It is very intriguing and has been unjustly underrated.

No depth but fun for kibitzing.......2006-06-17

An astronaut has some sort of weird experience in space. He comes back acting funny. Does any one notice? Not until he really goes off the deep end. How will it all end?

Just because this is one-dimensional and predictable does not mean you can not still say "stay in the car." And you don't think having twins is spooky? Rosemary's Baby never grew up to be a pilot. Yeah, and such common names like Spencer Armacost; what ever happened to Igor or Jeffery Dhalmer? They put in quiet space so you have time to think about what happened (or did not happen) and you call it dull. Do you really think that they would intentionally make a bad movie?

Interestingly enough the actors including Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron for better or worse have made some memorable movies. So it is interesting to speculate how they were lured into this particular film.

Average customer rating:

The Astronaut's Wife
Starring: Johnny Depp
Manufacturer: Turner Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000GAKO5K
Release Date: 2005-06-14

Average customer rating:

What Are They Up To?
could have been so much better
The Astronaut's Wife - A lackluster film
Poor Johnny
He does it again...

The Astronaut's Wife [Region 2]
Starring: Johnny Depp , Charlize Theron , Joe Morton , Clea DuVall , and Donna Murphy
Director: Rand Ravich
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video