Stowaway is honestly one of the best space-set thrillers I’ve ever seen. I should state that the film doesn’t have much competition as only Gravity, Sunshine and Interstellar stand against it in my metaphorical arena. That’s not to say that Stowaway’s script and presentation doesn’t make it stand out in the hard science fiction subgenre.

A colonization mission to Mars is jeopardized when the crew discover that their ship, which can only support three passengers, is carrying a fourth member.

The Characters

A film like Stowaway is incredibly difficult to do well in this day and age. We’ve been exposed to so many films of its like. If it is to impress us, it has to depict space and space travel in a way that is believable, understandable and new.

Stowaway succeeds at this, introducing us to characters that are totally convincing as qualified astronauts and empathetic as people. There’s Marina the commander (Toni Collette), Zoe the medical researcher (Anna Kendrick), David the biologist (Daniel Dae Kim) and of course the stowaway, Michael (Shamier Anderson). Of the four, Zoe and Michael are the most relatable. They are both excited and terrified of the historic positions they’re in. While the film does a good job of explaining how the ship works before he appears, Michael does initially become our surrogate as he isn’t 100% acquainted with the vessel’s mechanics. We the audience learn with him as the crew educate him in the workings of the ship, which will all be important later on.

Marina and David may not be as relatable but you never feel that they’re any less human than Zoe and Michael, especially when the story takes flight. Toni Collette portrays Marina as a leader who is polite and easy going but clearly anxious as someone with such a responsibility would be. David’s a bit like Spock in that he’s pretty calm and objective most of the time but occasionally shows little human quirks such as a taste in jazz music.

The plot is tense. Unbearably tense. I legitimately didn’t know how Stowaway was going to end, I could see it going so many ways. A long time is spent dwelling on the hopelessness of the crew’s situation, how they come to terms with the fact that all four of them won’t reach Mars. The script takes full advantage of the ethical questions the situation raises, forcing the characters to have difficult conversations. The situation however is not the plot’s only source of obstacles.

The Execution

If you’ve seen the trailers then you know at some point the crew exit the ship in space suits, why they do so I won’t spoil. From the few space-set, hard science fiction films I’ve seen, Stowaway has to be the best at depicting space and space travel. For starters, the only real science fiction element in the story is the fact that the ship has artificial gravity, apart from that it resembles most contemporary space crafts you can see online. It’s small, cramped, consisting of only a few rooms.

I think when we first learn about space our initial reaction is that of relief for our earthbound condition. Most people know how terrifying the concept of space is; the concept of an environment that can kill instantly if exposed to unprotected, the concept of an environment where you can be cast away, left to drift into an endless abyss where no one can reach you.

Stowaway realizes this concept perfectly. With numerous wide shots of their tiny vessel swaying forth, you’re constantly reminded of the dark ocean our characters are venturing through. You feel the inescapabilty of their situation. Things only get worse when our characters leave the ship. These sequences are where the film really shines. ‘Tense’ doesn’t do them justice. Your eyes scan every movement the characters make as you know it’ll only take them a single blunder to send them floating away.

In addition to what I believe to be the best and most accurate representation of space in recent memory, Stowaway has a smart and considerate script, presenting characters and a plot that we can both understand and accept in a realistic space travel context. It’s a solid sci-fi thriller that I’d recommend to everyone, sci-fi fans and non-fans alike.

I give Stowaway a strong 8 out of 10.