Spaceman (2024)
Movie · 2024 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama · 1h 48m · R · English
Curator score: 1.7/10 (188.9K ratings)
Tagline: I just want to go home.
Six months into a solo mission, a lonely astronaut confronts the cracks in his marriage with help from a mysterious creature he discovers on his ship.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 1.7/10
- IMDb: 5.7/10
- Letterboxd: 3.01/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
- Metacritic: 55
- TMDB: 6.7/10
Director: Johan Renck
Production: Free Association, Tango Entertainment, Sinestra
Cast: Adam Sandler, Paul Dano, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, Lena Olin, Petr Papánek, Marian Roden, Zuzana Stivínová, Sinéad Phelps, Sunny Sandler, John Flanders, Bash Doran, Petr Bláha, Mikuláš Čížek, Jessica Bechyňová, Soňa Tichá, Kimberly Han, Young Lee, Elke Luyten
Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict: A melancholy, low-key sci-fi drama that uses a space mission as a pressure chamber for loneliness, regret, and marital collapse. The emotional ambition is more interesting than the execution, but the film’s oddball tone and creature-therapy premise give it a distinct identity.
Best for: viewers who like introspective sci-fi; fans of relationship dramas with a surreal edge; people open to slow, melancholy mood pieces; audiences curious about Adam Sandler in serious mode
Skip if: you want hard sci-fi or big spectacle; you dislike therapy-style dialogue and symbolic storytelling; you need a tightly paced plot; you prefer emotionally direct, conventional drama
Overview: Spaceman is less interested in the mechanics of space travel than in the emotional vacuum that can open up inside a marriage. It plays like a grief-struck, cosmic chamber piece, with the ship becoming a private stage for guilt, memory, and self-reckoning. The premise is strange enough to keep it from feeling routine, even when the storytelling leans heavily on metaphor.
Worth noting: The film’s biggest asset is its mood: lonely, hushed, and faintly absurd in a way that softens the sadness rather than undercutting it. The creature-on-the-ship conceit gives the movie a therapeutic, fairy-tale quality, and the voice performance helps sell the intimacy of that dynamic. Still, the emotional beats can feel overexplained, and the film doesn’t always earn the weight it wants to carry.
Bottom line: If you’re in the mood for a reflective sci-fi drama about regret, distance, and the cost of emotional avoidance, it has enough sincerity and texture to recommend. If you want propulsion, originality in the plotting, or a cleaner payoff, it may feel more like an interesting near-miss than a fully satisfying voyage.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- Berlinase: Intersandlar
- noen: Interstellar produced by netflix
- cinemonika: I never thought I’d say this but I now want a giant and adorable spider to be my therapist
- cinemalick: He’s not that skinny though
- Ezgi Sümbül: It could have been a r/AmItheAsshole post
Recommended similar titles:
- Solaris (1972 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery · 2h 47m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (298.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max)
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- Ad Astra (2019 · Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 3m · PG-13 · Curator 4.8/10 (725.1K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, FXNow)
Shares the lonely astronaut perspective and the idea of a space journey as a route back to family pain.
- Moon (2009 · Science Fiction, Drama · 1h 37m · R · Curator 6.9/10 (702.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu)
A solitary-spacecraft story that turns inward, using sci-fi confinement to explore identity and loneliness.
- Her (2013 · Romance, Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 6m · R · Curator 8.7/10 (2.8M ratings))
For viewers drawn to intimate, emotionally literate sci-fi about connection, absence, and self-understanding.
- The Fountain (2006 · Drama, Adventure, Science Fiction · 1h 36m · PG-13 · Curator 4.2/10 (416.3K ratings))
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- Arrival (2016 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 8.9/10 (3.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium)
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- Interstellar (2014 · Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction · 2h 49m · PG-13 · Curator 9.4/10 (8M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential)
For the family-distance and cosmic-scale emotion, even though this is more intimate and less grand.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968 · Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure · 2h 29m · G · Curator 9.2/10 (2.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Philo, Max)
A classic for viewers interested in the philosophical and existential side of space travel.
- The Martian (2015 · Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure · 2h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (2.6M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo)
A more buoyant astronaut survival story, but still a strong fit for solo-space-mission appeal.
- Gravity (2013 · Science Fiction, Thriller, Drama · 1h 31m · PG-13 · Curator 6.5/10 (1.8M ratings))
Another survival-in-space film that emphasizes isolation, fear, and the body’s vulnerability.
- Passengers (2016 · Drama, Romance, Science Fiction · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 1.2/10 (1.1M ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
A space-set relationship story that, despite its flaws, centers on emotional consequences in transit.
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001 · Drama, Science Fiction, Adventure · 2h 26m · PG-13 · Curator 5.5/10 (633.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, TCM)
For its aching blend of futurism, longing, and the search for love in an uncanny world.
Topics: introspective sci-fi, psychological drama, melancholy, surreal, marriage crisis, existential, slow-burn, cosmic loneliness, character-driven, drifting
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/spaceman/636706
Spaceman (2024)
Movie · 2024 · Science Fiction, Adventure, Drama · 1h 48m · R · English
Curator score: 1.7/10 (188.9K ratings)
I just want to go home.
Overview Six months into a solo mission, a lonely astronaut confronts the cracks in his marriage with help from a mysterious creature he discovers on his ship.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.7/10
IMDb: 5.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.01/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 6.7/10
Production Free Association, Tango Entertainment, Sinestra
Cast Adam Sandler, Paul Dano, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, Lena Olin, Petr Papánek, Marian Roden, Zuzana Stivínová, Sinéad Phelps, Sunny Sandler, John Flanders, Bash Doran, Petr Bláha, Mikuláš Čížek, Jessica Bechyňová, Soňa Tichá, Kimberly Han, Young Lee, Elke Luyten
Where to watch Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A melancholy, low-key sci-fi drama that uses a space mission as a pressure chamber for loneliness, regret, and marital collapse. The emotional ambition is more interesting than the execution, but the film’s oddball tone and creature-therapy premise give it a distinct identity.
Best for
viewers who like introspective sci-fi
fans of relationship dramas with a surreal edge
people open to slow, melancholy mood pieces
audiences curious about Adam Sandler in serious mode
Skip if
you want hard sci-fi or big spectacle
you dislike therapy-style dialogue and symbolic storytelling
you need a tightly paced plot
you prefer emotionally direct, conventional drama
Overview
Spaceman is less interested in the mechanics of space travel than in the emotional vacuum that can open up inside a marriage. It plays like a grief-struck, cosmic chamber piece, with the ship becoming a private stage for guilt, memory, and self-reckoning. The premise is strange enough to keep it from feeling routine, even when the storytelling leans heavily on metaphor.
Worth noting
The film’s biggest asset is its mood: lonely, hushed, and faintly absurd in a way that softens the sadness rather than undercutting it. The creature-on-the-ship conceit gives the movie a therapeutic, fairy-tale quality, and the voice performance helps sell the intimacy of that dynamic. Still, the emotional beats can feel overexplained, and the film doesn’t always earn the weight it wants to carry.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for a reflective sci-fi drama about regret, distance, and the cost of emotional avoidance, it has enough sincerity and texture to recommend. If you want propulsion, originality in the plotting, or a cleaner payoff, it may feel more like an interesting near-miss than a fully satisfying voyage.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Berlinase (3.5★) · 4224 likes
Intersandlar
noen (2.5★) · 1973 likes
Interstellar produced by netflix
cinemonika (3★) · 1654 likes
I never thought I’d say this but I now want a giant and adorable spider to be my therapist
cinemalick · 1433 likes
He’s not that skinny though
Ezgi Sümbül (1.5★) · 1372 likes
It could have been a r/AmItheAsshole post
Recommended similar titles
1972 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery · 2h 47m · PG · Curator 9.4/10 (298.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Max
A foundational meditative sci-fi film about grief, memory, and the emotional cost of isolation.
2019 · Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 3m · PG-13 · Curator 4.8/10 (725.1K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, FXNow
Shares the lonely astronaut perspective and the idea of a space journey as a route back to family pain.
2009 · Science Fiction, Drama · 1h 37m · R · Curator 6.9/10 (702.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu
A solitary-spacecraft story that turns inward, using sci-fi confinement to explore identity and loneliness.
2013 · Romance, Science Fiction, Drama · 2h 6m · R · Curator 8.7/10 (2.8M ratings)
For viewers drawn to intimate, emotionally literate sci-fi about connection, absence, and self-understanding.
2006 · Drama, Adventure, Science Fiction · 1h 36m · PG-13 · Curator 4.2/10 (416.3K ratings)
A poetic, grief-centered film that treats cosmic imagery as a vessel for love and loss.
2016 · Drama, Science Fiction, Mystery · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 8.9/10 (3.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium
Emotionally restrained science fiction that finds its power in memory, language, and human attachment.
2014 · Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction · 2h 49m · PG-13 · Curator 9.4/10 (8M ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
For the family-distance and cosmic-scale emotion, even though this is more intimate and less grand.
1968 · Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure · 2h 29m · G · Curator 9.2/10 (2.2M ratings) · Where to watch: Philo, Max
A classic for viewers interested in the philosophical and existential side of space travel.
2015 · Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure · 2h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 7.6/10 (2.6M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo
A more buoyant astronaut survival story, but still a strong fit for solo-space-mission appeal.
2013 · Science Fiction, Thriller, Drama · 1h 31m · PG-13 · Curator 6.5/10 (1.8M ratings)
Another survival-in-space film that emphasizes isolation, fear, and the body’s vulnerability.
2016 · Drama, Romance, Science Fiction · 1h 56m · PG-13 · Curator 1.2/10 (1.1M ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
A space-set relationship story that, despite its flaws, centers on emotional consequences in transit.
2001 · Drama, Science Fiction, Adventure · 2h 26m · PG-13 · Curator 5.5/10 (633.6K ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, TCM
For its aching blend of futurism, longing, and the search for love in an uncanny world.
Topics
introspective sci-fi, psychological drama, melancholy, surreal, marriage crisis, existential, slow-burn, cosmic loneliness, character-driven, drifting
Open Spaceman (2024) on Curator TV