Usually, when I mention it in conversation, people just stare at me blankly, but once in a while, someone’s eyes will light up and they’ll say, “Oh my God, I love that movie!” (One of the greatest moments of my life was briefly geeking out about it with Oscar Isaac, who auditioned for a role in Sunshine and was subsequently cast in Garland’s Ex Machina. Still, Sunshine may be the movie I’ve rewatched most in the decade since then. And while Boyle, Garland and Murphy have each had their subsequent successes, they haven’t made another film together. One of the actors, future Captain America Chris Evans, started bringing it up in interviews as an example of how no one had seen his “good” movies. After its release in the summer of 2007, Sunshine underperformed globally, making only $32 million (compared to the $85 million earned by 28 Days Later), with a paltry $3.6 million in the U.S. Sadly, any hopes about the film’s broader impact quickly faded. In addition to reinventing and revitalizing the zombie movie, it showed how low-budget, handheld filmmaking could be used to blend science fiction and horror in a way that was both emotionally compelling and scary as hell.Īnd although it was more science fictional than 28 Days Later, with a larger budget, Sunshine still seemed very much like a spiritual successor, bringing the same indie approach to outer space. Their first, 28 Days Later, had been a surprising success. It was the second collaboration between director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland and star Cillian Murphy. Sunshine, it seemed to me, was pointing to a promising new direction for science fiction film. When the movie ended, my friend and I spent an extra 10 minutes on the floor, trying to find his misplaced glasses.ĭespite the sub-optimal viewing conditions, I remember feeling genuinely thrilled by what I’d seen. The first time I saw Sunshine, it was in a movie theater packed with awkward men (in my memory, the audience was at least 90 percent male).
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