Interstellar’s biggest flaw is how good it is.

As a compulsive consumer of all things written and visualized, I’m starting to become a little immune to stories. Been there, seen that (or read that). So I went into Interstellar keeping my hopes and expectations as low as possible (and secretly wishing to be blown away).

Then something weird happened.

For 2 hours and 45 minutes, I sat in that theatre, regressing emotionally to a time when I was 10, and staying mentally where I am now (only a teensy bit smarter). I. was. blown. away.

Nolan’s known for his amazing plots- time as a physical dimension? sarcastic robots? slingshots through space? Count me in!

But what makes this movie special is his ability to mix the emotional stakes with his twisty-turny plot. The first half of the movie, dystopian farmlands, with dust accumulating and weird documentary elders recounting a worse time, draws you in just as much as the barren spacelands the astronauts encounter. Cooper’s relationship with his daughter is just as important as his quest to explore new reaches of space.

I sat, mouth open, regularly gasping in shock, sometimes melting in tears. I was enthralled.

Then, almost as soon as the movie was over, I wanted to list out its every flaw. I walked out of the theater convinced I had witnessed a work of art, but an hour later, I was picking it apart, pointing out every mistake I could find. eg: How on earth did NASA get so lazy that they didn’t realize a very capable pilot lived a day’s ride from them?

NASA was all like, “oh, hey ex-pilot, look at you, randomly showing up at our super secret facility in the middle of a stormy night. We haven’t seen you in years, we don’t know how fit you are… or who gave you the coordinates to our location. Seems super suspicious. <beat> Welp, you might as well pilot the one ship that will decide whether humanity lives or dies. No, really, we insist.”

My husband, an engineering physics graduate, chose to pick apart some of the movie’s flaws in physics- something about black holes killing everything that came a million miles near it? It skipped right over my head.

My point is, the movie made a lot of us react in a very specific way:

stage 1- amazement.

stage 2- a compulsive picking apart of flaws

stage 3- a grudging admission that it was a fantastic experience anyway.

Here’s why:

Part of me wanted to tear apart the movie because I was a teeny bit jealous that Nolan created a story that as a writer, I know will take me decades to match- if ever.

Partly, I wanted to rip up the story the way scientists are inclined to rip up clocks as kids: to see the machinery from the inside. To find out how it works. To marvel at it some more.

Partly, I was just being a jerk.

At any rate, for nearly 3 hours last night, I experienced emotions I rarely feel as a grown up: wonder, curiosity and joy all mixed up with sentiment.

Go watch the movie if you haven’t already. Believe me, it’s worth the hype.