[yasr_overall_rating]
A struggling mother encounters the son she abandoned 20 years earlier.
“Aloft” is marked by trauma and stunted growth, concentrating on the damaged relationship between Nana (Jennifer Connelly) and her son Ivan (Cillian Murphy). Both have been greatly affected by a tragic accident induced by an innocent childlike frustration and jealousy of a young lvan (Zen McGrath), which resulted in losing his younger brother, Gully (Winta McGrath) who was seemingly doomed from the beginning due to a brain tumor. From the beginning, it is Nana, in a fury of foiled attempts, trying to save her son Gully while Ivan, who is assumed strong, is emotionally neglected, and thus creates a wall of fermented resentment. He maintains his focus on and finds his solace in falconry while Nana finds her own path in faith healing.
It is a story that is told by going back and forth over the course of 20 years, focusing on the young mother Nana, struggling in finding help to save her son Gully, all the while engaging in a tense relationship with her older son Ivan. Intermittently, it switches to the perspective of an older Ivan who is resigned to his falcons, moving through the motions of husband and father with a lackadaisical negativity. Ivan’s brooding is stirred by journalist Jannia Ressmore (Mélanie Laurent) who persuades him to join her on a journey to find his mother, who is now a healer, hidden away near the Arctic Circle.
The story is scattered, and it is hard to find reason or cause for Ivan’s journey. He is numb and yet he is furious, but there seems no real reason for him to venture out of his alcove of domestic dimness in search of his mother just to “see what happens.” While Laurent’s character provides the connection, the option, the character is stale, tedious and lacks an essential necessity. She doesn’t provide an overwhelming reason or promote inspiration for Ivan to make his decision. He could have easily made the decision, the journey to find his mother by his own accord. All Jannia Ressmore provides is geographical coordinates. The journey drags us to an unfulfilling end as the mystery and mysticism surrounding Nana flat lines.
While Claudia Llosa beautifully captures the sterility and harshness of the icy wasteland that is featured in her film “Aloft,” it is a pity that her narrative is as barren as its surroundings. The talents of Jennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy, while not wasted, were certainly not fully realized. Murphy as the adult Ivan becomes a caricature of embitterment, sulking around with his falcons. Connelly as Nana is striking all throughout but her character loses all mystery and refinement at the end. The potential for greatness and depth is there but everything is just a bit to obvious, the grace of subtlety is absent and the film is in the throes of trying to be mysterious but ends up being an irritating sty, damning any metaphorical poeticism attempted.
Now playing in select theaters and at the Angelika in Dallas & Plano
