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The Astronaut's Wife
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Astronaut's Wife | |
|---|---|
 The Astronaut's Wife film poster |
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| Directed by | Rand Ravich |
| Produced by | Andrew Lazar |
| Written by | Rand Ravich |
| Starring | Johnny Depp Charlize Theron |
| Music by | George S. Clinton |
| Cinematography | Allen Daviau |
| Editing by | Tim Alverson Steve Mirkovich |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 1999 |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $34,000,000 (estimated) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Astronaut's Wife is a 1999 science fiction/thriller film directed and written by Rand Ravich. It stars Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron. The original music score is composed by George S. Clinton.
The film's taglines are Imagine the face of terror is the one you love. and Witness the birth of pure evil.
Contents |
Spencer Armarcost is a NASA astronaut. While on a space walking mission with a fellow astronaut, Alex Streck, an explosion results in a communication loss for two minutes between the astronauts and Earth. They return home to their respective spouses, but Spencer's wife Jillian sees a change in Spencer and becomes suspicious. She begins to question what happened in the time they lost contact. Jillian has suffered depression in the past and would like to start a family, so she is initially thrilled with Spencer's return to Earth. She also becomes pregnant but feels something out of this world is living inside of her.
Despite the film's earlier ambiguities, Spencer turns out to be possessed by an extra-terrestrial being (Alex Streck most likely was as well before dying). It is implied that, in order to keep his possession a secret from his wife, he kills Sherman Reese (who was fired from NASA for having suspicions that Armacost is possessed) and Nan (who confronts him when she sees Spencer in possession of Reese's belongings). Jillian, suspicious of her husband's actions, sets up a confrontation where she attempts to electrocute herself. The resulting conversation during the confrontation confirms to her that Spencer is possessed. At the end of the confrontation, Spencer is electrocuted and his true alien form (a tentacled energy being) is revealed briefly before "transmitting" itself into Jillian.
Years later, Jillian has re-married and sends her twin sons off on their first day of school. It is implied that she is now possessed and that the children were conceived after Spencer had become possessed. Her new husband is a fighter pilot, a career which "Jillian" intends for her sons as well.
It has been noted that the plot of The Astronaut's Wife is apparently influenced by The Quatermass Experiment (1953) and its feature film adaptation (1955), the plot of which revolves around an astronaut who returns to Earth possessed by an alien organism.[1][2] The plot also bears a certain resemblance to the cult-classic 50's sci-fi film I Married a Monster from Outer Space, which is also about aliens posing as husbands in order to impregnate Earth women. Another movie and book cited as an influence was Rosemary's Baby, in which a woman becomes pregnant, only to become suspicious of her husband and neighbor's motives, as it becomes apparent a supernatural force may be at work. Charlize Theron's costumes and hairstyle also mimic Mia Farrow's from that movie. Also, actor Nick Cassavetes is the son of director/actor John Cassavetes (who appears in the film Rosemary's Baby), and actress Gena Rowland.
Actors Depp (Sleepy Hollow), Theron (The Devil's Advocate), DuVall (The Faculty & The Grudge), Eggar (The Brood), Brown (Altered States) and Noonan (The Wolfen & Manhunter) have all appeared previously in at least one horror film.
An alternate ending exists where, although Jillian is not possessed by the alien, her children are possessed & are in some way "controlling" her.
The Astronaut's Wife was nominated for Best Film at the Catalonian International Film Festival in Sitges in 1999.
- Johnny Depp as Commander Spencer Armacost
- Charlize Theron as Jillian Armacost
- Joe Morton as Sherman Reese, NASA Representative
- Clea DuVall as Nan
- Donna Murphy as Natalie Streck
- Nick Cassavetes as Capt. Alex Streck
- Samantha Eggar as Dr. Patraba
- Gary Grubbs as NASA Director
- Blair Brown as Shelly McLaren
- Tom Noonan as Jackson McLaren
- Tom O'Brien as Allen Dodge
- Lucy Lin as Shelly Carter
- Michael Crider as Pat Elliott
- Cole and Dylan Sprouse as Jillian's Twin Sons