The Thousand

Author(s): Ross Jensen (TN)
The Thousand

Directed by JJ Abrams
Written by Jonathan Nolan and JJ Abrams & Damon Lindelof
Cinematography by Dante Spinotti
Edited by Dan Minder
Produced by JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Music by Michael Giacchino

Main Cast

Harry Bittering - Christian Bale
McCreary - Tom CruiseCora - Natalie Portman
Logan - Michael Stahl-David
Quint - William Fichtner

Tagline: “The Future of Man”

Synopsis: The overpopulated Earth has forced exploration into a new civilization. The US government has approved an ambitious plan to set up a colony of humans on Mars comprised of scientists, US military, media, and civilians and their families. The government approves three waves of settlers to eventually make up a colony of one thousand. The first wave of settlers departs Earth, and a second wave of new pioneers are set to start new lives on the distant red planet.

Harry Bittering (Christian Bale) is a suburban husband and father with the normal struggles of everyday life living in monotony. He enters his family into the lottery to be selected for the second wave of settlement. He is excited for the new opportunity to be a part of history. Surprisingly, Harry and his family are selected to join the group and head to Mars under the leadership of Lt. Charles McCreary (Tom Cruise). Six months later, the travel weary families arrive on Mars. Harry's attitude has changed. He feels regret for getting his family into this, and tells them they should go back. Everyone insists that he's over thinking this. But, upon arrival, they discover a barren wasteland where the first wave of settlers were supposed to be. They are filled with fear of not knowing where the settlers went. Did they even make it? Or even worse: could there actually be native Martians? But, expedition leader McCreary tells the startled settlers to move along normally, the others just must have landed off the target area. A civilization is set up. Harry and his family grow crops in the Martian soil, build a home, watch satellite television, and others do the normal duties while the scientists take samples, and the military leaders watch over, and media sends out broadcasts. Almost like Earth, except not to Harry. He obsessively keeps a watch out and every morning checks everything with the intent of finding something wrong. His attitude makes him the joke of the group. He notices things that others do not. Like the shades of coloring on crops, and an apparent glimmer of gold in people's eyes. He quickly decides to go back to Earth when the next rocket arrives. But, breaking news over the television, reports that a nuclear bomb has detonated, destroying the National Air Defense and the Mars Rocket Center… "Mars Missions Terminated."

Harry rushes to Lt. McCreary and tells him, but he seems unsurprised. The Lieutenant tries to keep Harry quiet so the others will not hear, but they do and the fear and uncertainty grows. He presses the Lieutenant to set up an expedition squad to go searching for the other group, but McCreary continuously says simply "They will find us." McCreary is of no use as is the rest of the military. All but one Staff Sergeant, Matt Logan.

Harry secretly gets together a crew including Logan and a reporter named Quint. They set out into the great unexplored in search of the missing group. He leaves his family telling them he will be back soon. They move through the dusty terrain for a day before they catch sight of a triumphant image. They see the American flag at the top of a hill. The group rushes to it, and amazingly down in a crater is the landing craft with the NASA logos. But, not a soul to be seen. They climb to the opposite side of the crater and see a small fire burning. Next to it was a human sitting against a rock. They yell to him and rush down to greet him when they see something that makes their stomachs drop. In the small fire is the figure of a body- burning up. And up against the rock was an astronaut. A dead astronaut. They hear a sound over the howling winds. Logan reaches to grip his M4 Carbine. Slowly they turn and see a towering figure standing over them. Tall and dark. The figure reaches and grabs Quint and starts choking him. Logan opens fire, but is jumped on by another figure as is Harry. Harry tries to fight back but he is knocked unconscious. He awakens next to the fire, except alone. He rushes back to the settlement. He tries to tell them that Martians have killed his fellow expeditioners. They all don't seem to believe or even care about the notion of savages taking the first settlement or them being next. They all think Harry has lost his mind. McCreary is once again unfazed by Harry’s experience. Bittering accuses McCreary of not being honest with the settlement when McCreary fires back in an exchange that details both of their views of faith and science. The camp has clearly changed in the day and a half Harry was gone. His dog is beginning to form an extra leg. His son seems unresponsive, and shockingly starts speaking in foreign tongues.

Harry’s wife, Cora, becomes increasingly detached from her relationship with him. The people's physique changes quickly but, Harry seems to be the only one to notice. He continually refuses to eat food grown off the land and will only eat from the deep-freezer.

Harry even begins to question his sanity. Out of desperation, he decides he will build a rocket by himself to take his family away from Mars. He does this while keeping his eyes on the horizon for a herd of Martians to come over the hill ready for war. Nobody else sees it this way. But, the mystery of the situation still fills Harry. He wonders still about what the unknown creatures did to the other group. He questions if they’re even dead at all. People back on Earth couldn't just leave the group here to rot. And somehow, the others seem to not care much about anything anymore. The questions fill the head of the man everyone calls mad, and before it is all over the mysteries will be revealed.

What the Press Would Say:

JJ Abrams goes to every length to make "The Thousand" as solid a picture as possible. After flops like "Mission to Mars" and "Red Planet", few could expect much from another ill-fated-Mars-mission film. But, leave it to JJ Abrams to bring us one of the most exciting, intriguing, and, in the end, thoughtful films of the year. Based on the short story "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed" by the great Ray Bradbury, "Thousand" manages to reach the core of human nature and existence amid the usual sci-fi fare. This is due in large part to a fantastic script from Jonathan Nolan and finished off by Abrams himself and “Lost”-vet Damon Lindelof. The three work hard to balance thrills and messages while never swaying on the side of either preachy or popcorn. “Thousand” is Abrams first feature film not to be solely set-up for tent pole franchises. This is serious and ambitious filmmaking and the guy shows he knows how to do it. There is a stunning cinematography job by Dante Spinotti.

Filmed in the barren Atacama Desert and the Rocky Mountains instead of green screen adds to the film's more human feel it would probably lose otherwise. The landscape is stark and alone, much like the survivors and the protagonist. The desert is stunningly convincing. It is quite fun to look at because it truly seems as if these characters are on the red planet. The cast is led by Christian Bale and Tom Cruise. Bale does not ever put on a performance of any less than great. His role is quiet at times and in others rebellious to the civilization that is losing itself to (let's just say factors to not spoil the film for you). He has a family to try and keep and he fights every step of the way while slowly turning obsessively insane. He is married to Cora who is played here by Natalie Portman. The two work very well together and the struggles they face are familiar to the audience at its core. The survivors are led by none other than Tom Cruise who worked with Abrams in Mission: Impossible III. He plays a military leader trying to keep order and hide a revelation that only Harry (Bale) could have expected. Cruise plays the character with sharp intensity that radiates through his every expression. He wears a flat-top buzz, which is interesting to see to say the least. Both leads are highly entertaining and when they share the same scenes it elevates the film to another level.

Best Picture- JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof
Best Director- JJ Abrams
Best Actor- Christian Bale
Best Supporting Actor- Tom CruiseB
Best Supporting Actress- Natalie Portman
Best Adapted Screenplay- Jonathan Nolan and JJ Abrams & Damon Lindelof