Thomas Butt is a senior writer at Collider who focuses on classic movies.
Always a respected actor within the industry and critical community, Cillian Murphy ascended to new heights of stardom in 2023 as the face of one of the signature moviegoing sensations of the decade, Oppenheimer.
The Best Picture-winning biopic by Christopher Nolan, which also garnered Murphy a win for Best Actor, set him up for life, and now, anything he's a part of is worthy of attention. Returning to the role of Tommy Shelby in the recently released Peaky Blinders movie for Netflix, The Immortal Man, Murphy has been building to this point of his career for decades, starting with his fruitful partnership with Danny Boyle, who helped launch him into prominence in 28 Days Later. Five years later, the two, along with screenwriter Alex Garland, reunited for one of the most overlooked films of the 2000s, the sci-fi drama/thriller Sunshine, a film that audiences rudely dismissed in 2007 but has since proven to be a groundbreaking influence on the genre. 'Sunshine' was Egregiously Overlooked and Dumped in 2007 When describing the synopsis of Sunshine, a team of astronauts venture into space to revive the power of the sun in a last-ditch effort to restore humanity, and revealing its star-studded cast, including Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong, and Hiroyuki Sanada, you'll be perplexed as to how and why this movie slipped past your radar. Despite an enticing premise and a cast that now features Oscar winners, Emmy winners, and Captain America himself, this challenging film was dumped in the middle of the summer by Fox Searchlight, grossing a lowly $3.6 million at the box office. Sunshine wears its influences on its sleeve, as the moody emotional register parallels classics such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris. The nerve-wracking intensity is akin to The Wages of Fear and Sorcerer, where chaos can erupt in a matter of seconds. Carrying the burden of a galactic apocalypse, these astronauts recognize that they are being treated as human cattle for a fatal mission. Films centered around intergalactic odysseys and the battle between humanity and space have never been more in style, evident by the increasing adoration of Interstellar and the recently released blockbuster sensation, Project Hail Mary. Still, even by today's standards, Sunshine is an inscrutable expression of mortality, and it's no surprise that this was likely impossible to market in 2007. Cillian Murphy Plays Another Physicist with a Bomb in 'Sunshine' At the heart of the film's moody tenor is Cillian Murphy, who gives an incredibly restrained performance as Robert Capa, a physicist in charge of operating the stellar bomb needed to reignite the dying Sun. Before anyone fancied turning the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer into the central figure of a Hollywood blockbuster, Capa retroactively became a stealth audition for Murphy to play the father of the nuclear bomb. Murphy's work in Sunshine is rooted in the same psychological horror as his Oscar-winning turn in Oppenheimer, where his ingenuity feels too massive for his own body. There's something profound about Murphy gazing at the shock and awe of explosions caused by bombs, and his facial gestures are stirring enough to carry you through the film's unforgiving tone. Murphy and Alex Garland, who are set to reunite for the third entry in the 28 Years Later saga, are perfect for each other. The actor provided the director, initially known for his flashy, pop music-heavy indies like Trainspotting, with gravitas to his visual panache. Sunshine puts most contemporary big-budget sci-fi blockbusters to shame with its virtuosic special effects. The details of the ship, the sprites in space's atmosphere, and explosions are clearly the work of artisans and not studio pre-visualization. The awe-inspiring nature of the film's visual language works in tandem with the intimate trappings of this chamber drama, and you'll forget that you're watching a Fox Searchlight picture and not a major blockbuster. However, the consensus criticism thrown Sunshine's way was its third act, which pivots from the melancholy drama to a more familiar space thriller set piece as their mission goes completely haywire. It may feel like a cop-out from the outside, but this tonal shift stays true to the audaciousness brought to the screen by Boyle and Alex Garland, whose later films like of his own, like Ex Machina, would tackle the perils of advanced technology with an even bleaker edge. Yes, Sunshine works in strange ways, destined to alienate some viewers who want something more uplifting or subversive, but its daring vision is a true marvel. For those in the loop, Danny Boyle's space drama is a bonafide cult classic, but the film still deserves a broader appreciation among mass audiences, especially if everything Cillian Murphy touches is treated as gold. So many of the hallmarks we love about modern sci-fi, from the operatic emotionality, technical inventiveness, and intellectual spectacle, were first crystallized by Sunshine. Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper film insights Rediscover cinematic hidden gems—subscribe to the newsletter for thoughtful coverage of films like Sunshine, actor deep-dives, and technique-focused analysis. Find curated perspectives that deepen your appreciation of modern cinema. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Sunshine is available to rent or buy on VOD services. Sunshine Like Follow Followed R Drama Science Fiction Thriller Release Date April 5, 2007 Runtime 107 minutes Director Danny Boyle Writers Alex Garland Producers Andrew Macdonald Cast See All
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