A psychologist recovering from a personal tragedy travels to a space station to investigate a research team that has severed all contact.
Solaris is based on a 1961 novel by Polish science-fiction writer Stanislaw Lem. It was previously adapted for the screen by legendary Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972. The genesis of the modern adaptation is with director James Cameron, who acquired the rights back in the 1990's but found himself caught up in various projects. Director Steven Soderbergh approached Cameron with his ideas for the film and began what would appear to be a very unlikely collaboration between the two.
Soderbergh's career began with one of the defining works of the American independent film movement with Sex, Lies, And Videotape in 1989, which won him the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. He then followed with an eclectic run of films in the 1990's, but none of them found the same success. He rebounded in a major way with 1998's Out Of Sight, a blend of his arthouse sensibilities with Hollywood sheen, and a film that finally delivered on the star promise of actor George Clooney (who would become his future producing partner). His comeback was complete with the one-two punch of Erin Brockovich and Traffic (both in 2000), the latter earning him an Academy Award for Best Direction, and his star-studded hit remake of Ocean's 11. With Solaris, he delved into the science fiction genre, previously uncharted territory for the filmmaker.
After showing interest in Daniel Day-Lewis, who was busy working on Gangs Of New York, Soderbergh went to his new collaborator Clooney, who until this point hadn't done any dramatic heavy lifting in his film career. Also in the cast are Natasha McElhone (The Truman Show), Jeremy Davies (TV's LOST), and future Oscar nominee Viola Davis (The Help). As he had on previous films, Soderbergh also did his own cinematography and editing, crediting himself under pseudonyms for each.
Cameron was mostly hands-off during the production, letting the director implement his own aesthetic and storytelling choices. Soderbergh used both the novel and Tarkovsky's film for inspiration, but claimed to hew closer to the novel than the previous adaptation, getting more into the psychology of the characters. He later described his film to the press as a mixture of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Last Tango In Paris.
A difficult film to market, trailers seemed to advertise some kind of romantic thriller, and word of mouth likely affected box office receipts. It failed to make back its initial budget. Clooney received positive notice for his acting, and the film overall had a mixed reception with critics, though praised by many for its intelligence w/r/t its genre. It is now regarded as one of Soderbergh's more ambitious works, and following this continued to alternate between bigger Hollywood movies with more experimental projects.
Running time is approx. 100 minutes.
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