Review of Stowaway
midlandsmovies • April 25, 2021
Stowaway (2021) Dir. Joe Penna
New sci-fi drama Stowaway arrives on Netflix and tells the story of a trio of astronauts heading to Mars on a two-year journey whose well-prepared plans are thwarted by the discovery of an accidental stowaway.
The excellent Toni Collette plays Marina Barnett, the ship commander who has support from a biologist (Daniel Dae Kim) and Anna Kendrick as a medical researcher. In addition to this fantastic trio of well-known leads we get a very subtle and delicate performance by newcomer Shamier Anderson as the accidental hitchhiker.
The trio bond with their unexpected passenger but it’s quickly discovered the ship’s original voyage had such slim margins, there is no longer enough resources to sustain life for the whole crew. And soon the unthinkable crosses their minds to suggest a sacrifice to keep others alive in the remote depths of space.
Penna directed the excellent isolation survival film Arctic but sadly little of that film’s empathy and resonance is present here. The film has pacing issues with a relatively quick 1st act that immediately decelerates to a stilted halt. The actors are simply not given enough material to work on, with their backstories minimal, feeling almost missed in their entirety at times.
This results in the subsequent drama and emotional investment feeling extremely limited with little audience empathy generated. With an underused cast, a flat middle and an extended 2-hour run-time that cannot sustain the simple yet rather ingenious idea, Stowaway is more of a disappointment than an outright failure.
Some may find some satisfaction in its sweeping sci-fi tropes but I found myself feeling more yawn-away than blown-away by too many non-functioning components.
★★½
Michael Sales
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