By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Looking for a new Netflix series to binge? Oscar-winner Hilary Swank stars in “Away,” a cathartic, compelling sci-fi drama about the first manned mission to Mars.
As tenacious NASA Commander Emma Green, she heads an international crew, along with veteran Russian cosmonaut/engineer Misha Popov (Mark Ivanir), Chinese chemist Wang Lu (Vivian Wu), Ghanaian-British botanist Kwesi (Ato Essandoh) and second-in-command Ram (Ray Panthaki), the ship’s Indian doctor.
As the episodes unfold, each astronaut has his or her own personal backstory. Emma’s involves her supportive husband, NASA scientist Matt Green (Josh Charles), and 15 year-old daughter Lexi (Talitha Eliana Bateman), who will face unexpected challenges during Emma’s three-year mission.
Perfectly timed during this worldwide pandemic, the initial 10 episodes capture our current anxiety and paranoia, as viewers can identify with the isolation and poignant emotional dilemmas faced by Atlas’ crew members who communicate with loved ones via video chat/cell phones/texting although they’re millions of miles away.
“While these people are working towards a goal together, they also have this gravitational pull to Earth,” explains Swank. “All of us having these families made it a love story.”
It’s definitely a character-driven, family/workplace epic, involving love & loss, faith & religion, making the perilous space journey a very real experience. Created by Andrew Hinderaker from an “Esquire” article by Chris Jones about the strains on the astronauts’ personal lives, each segment presents new challenges.
Weightlessness plays a pivotal part. Since it was obvious that the extensive wire-work would be physically grueling, particularly on the glutes and abs, the actors attended a few weeks of arduous ‘stunt’ boot-camp in Vancouver, where the series is filmed.
In addition, Swank spent time training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, meeting astronaut Karen Nyberg, who spent 180 days in space; Swank also chatted with Jessica Meir, who was onboard the International Space Station at the time.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, the first season of “Away” is an engaging 8. It has all the right stuff!
Somewhat overlooked when it first streamed on Disney Plus, “Togo,” a treacherous, true tale of a rugged Alaskan frontiersman and his trusty Siberian Husky, is highly recommended for family viewing.
During the winter of 1925, a deadly diphtheria epidemic threatened the children of Nome, Alaska. Since a horrific blizzard was brewing, getting the necessary serum by plane was impossible. That’s when veteran Norwegian musher Leonhard Seppala (Willem Dafoe) decided to undertake the perilous journey with his team of sled dogs.
If the story sounds familiar, the harrowing, historic 674-mile run across Alaska was previously filmed as the animated film “Balto” (1995), commemorating the canine that completed the final segment and was honored with a statue in New York’s Central Park later that year.
But Balto only ran the final 50+ miles; it was heroic 12 year-old Togo who actually led for most of the journey, including crossing the frozen Norton Sound to save time. Finally in 2001, Togo got his own marble monument in the Lower East Side’s Seward Park, named for Secretary of State William H. Seward who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.
Screenwriter Tom Flynn decided to set the record straight, working with director/cinematographer Ericson Core. Filming took four months in Alberta, Canada, near Lake Louise, and in the Rocky Mountains, coping with difficult conditions: bad weather, strong winds and 50-below zero temperature, leading to frostbite. The “relay” as depicted eventually inspired the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Togo was named after the Japanese Admiral Heihachiro Togo, a pivotal figure in the 1904-05 war between Russia and Japan. After his remarkable “Serum Run,” Togo lived four more years, dying at age 16, in 1929.
FYI: The recitation that Seppala utters as his dogs are crossing the icy, splintering sea is a somewhat edited version of the famous St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s “Henry V.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Togo” is an exciting 8, correcting an error in the history books.
Once upon a time, devoutly Catholic actor James Caviezel was on an ascending career trajectory, having garnered acclaim in “The Thin Red Line” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.”
Then came “The Passion of the Christ” and his outspoken defense of Mel Gibson, who was known to have engaged in overt anti-Semitism. Speaking at the First Baptist Church of Orlando, Caviezel noted, “Mel Gibson doesn’t need your judgment; he needs your prayers.”
And in 2006, Caviezel appeared in a controversial anti-stem cell research commercial in response to Parkinson’s-afflicted actor Michael J. Fox’s stem-cell endorsement, comparing Fox to Judas.
Adamantly refusing to separate his faith from his work, Caviezel has declared he would never participate in love scenes, especially if they involved nudity, preferring to follow the path of religious films.
Which obviously led him to “Infidel,” a tepid thriller about Doug Rawlins, a Christian preacher/blogger who deliberately infuriates Muslims at a conference on religion in Egypt, gets kidnapped by Hezbollah and winds up in prison in Iran, accused of being an American spy. His wife Elizabeth (Claudia Karvan), who works for the US State Department, then goes to Iran to try to free him.
As depicted in writer/director/producer Cyrus Nowrasteh’s script, Rawlins shows an arrogant disdain for the Muslim faith, proclaiming on Cairo television: “Jesus is God, and he wants to be your God.”
He’s not only rude but also disrespectful of Muslim beliefs. It’s like going to the Vatican and openly criticizing the Pope’s faith.
Ostensibly about human rights abuses and corruption, the concept defeats itself. Even his captor Ramzi (Hal Ozsan) admits, “We take this #### far too seriously,” urging: “Just tell them what they want to hear, and this will all be over.” But Rawlins is determined to be a martyr.
And since the opening shots show Rawlins facing a firing squad on a Tehran rooftop, we know from the getgo what’s inevitably going to happen.
On the Granger Gauge, “Infidel” is a faith-based 5, preaching to the choir.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
