Life (2017 film)

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For other movies with the same name, see Life (disambiguation) Films.

Life

Theatrical release poster

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

David Ellison
Produced by
Dana Goldberg
Bonnie Curtis
Julie Lynn

Written by Rhett Reese

Paul Wernick

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal

Rebecca Ferguson
Ryan Reynolds
Hiroyuki Sanada
Ariyon Bakare
Olga Dihovichnaya

Music by Jon Ekstrand

Cinematography Seamus McGarvey

Edited by Frances Parker

 Mary Jo Markey

Production Skydance Media

company

Distributed by Columbia Pictures

Release date March 18, 2017 (SXSW)

March 24, 2017(United States)

Running time 104 minutes[1]

Country United States

Language English

Budget $58 million[2]

Box office $100.5 million[3]

Life is a 2017 American science fiction horror film directed by Daniel Espinosa, written by Rhett
Reese and Paul Wernick and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds.
The film follows a six-member crew of the International Space Station that uncovers the first
evidence of life on Mars.
The first co-production between Skydance Media and Sony Pictures, the film had its world
premiere at South by Southwest on March 18, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United
States on March 24, 2017, by Columbia Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and
grossed $100 million worldwide.

Contents
[hide]

1Plot
2Cast
3Production
4Release
5Reception
o 5.1Box office
o 5.2Critical response
6References
7See also
8External links

Plot[edit]
The unmanned Pilgrim 7 space probe is returning from Mars to the International Space
Station (ISS) with a soil sample that might contain evidence of extraterrestrial life, when it enters
an asteroid field and is severely damaged.
The six-member ISS crew captures the spacecraft and exobiologist Hugh Derry revives a
dormant cell from the sample; it quickly grows into a multi-celled organism that American school
children name "Calvin". After an atmospheric accident in the lab, Calvin becomes dormant. Hugh
revives Calvin with mild electric shocks, but Calvin immediately becomes hostile and attacks
Hugh, crushing his hand. While Hugh lies unconscious from Calvin's attack, Calvin uses the
electric shock tool Hugh wielded to escape his immediate enclosure. Now free in the lab room,
Calvin devours a lab rat by absorbing it and grows in size. Engineer Rory Adams uses the
opportunity to enter the room and rescue Hugh. However, Calvin latches onto Rory's leg and
physician David Jordan locks Rory in the room to keep Calvin contained. After Rory
unsuccessfully attacks Calvin with a flame thrower, Calvin enters his mouth, killing him by
devouring his organs from the inside. Emerging from Rory's mouth even larger, Calvin escapes
through a fire-control vent. Hugh theorizes that lack of breathable air on Mars is what kept the
organism dormant.
Finding their communication with Earth cut off, due to overheating of the communication systems,
mission commander Ekaterina Golovkina performs a space walk to fix the overheating. Calvin,
having breached the cooling systems, attacks her outside the ISS and ruptures her spacesuit's
coolant system in the process, causing toxic liquid to fill her helmet. She struggles to get back
into ISS, but eventually realizes that Calvin will also be able to re-enter the space station. She
refuses to open the airlock to seek help, and stops David from doing so as well. This keeps
Calvin out of the station, but also causes Ekaterina to drown in her spacesuit and her body to drift
away into space.
Calvin attempts to enter the station through the thrusters. The crew try to use the thrusters to
prevent Calvin from entering these openings, but their attempts fail and the station loses too
much fuel. The ISS enters a decaying orbit, which will eventually cause the station to burn up in
Earth's atmosphere. Pilot Sho Murakami informs the crew that they need to use the remaining
fuel to get back into a safe orbit, but the attempt would allow Calvin back into the station. The
crew then plan to make Calvin dormant by sealing themselves into one module and venting the
atmosphere from the rest of the station.
When Hugh enters cardiac arrest, the crew realize that Calvin was feeding off Hugh's leg. Having
grown into a larger tentacled creature, Calvin attacks the remainder of the crew. Sho seals
himself in a sleeping pod as Calvin attempts to crack the glass and consume him. David and the
quarantine officer Miranda North use Hugh's corpse as bait to lure Calvin away from Sho and trap
it in a module to deprive it of oxygen.
Having received a distress call prior to the damage to the ISS communication system, Earth
sends a Soyuz capsule as a fail-safe plan to push the station into deep space. The capsule docks
with the station and starts pushing it into deep space. Believing the situation to be a rescue
mission, Sho leaves his pod and rushes to board the arriving ship, forcing open the capsule's
hatch; Calvin then attacks him and the Soyuz crew. The encounter causes a docking breach that
results in the capsule detaching and crashing into the ISS, killing Sho and the Soyuz pilots. David
and Miranda, the only survivors, now realize that the incident has again caused them to enter a
decaying orbit. Aware that Calvin could survive re-entry, David recalls two escape pods, planning
to lure Calvin into one pod and pilot it into deep space, allowing Miranda to escape to Earth in the
other pod.
David leads Calvin into his pod and launches into space as Miranda launches hers. One of the
pods hits debris and is knocked off course. Calvin attacks David as he struggles to send his pod
into deep space. The pods then separate; the earthbound pod performs a controlled re-entry and
lands in the ocean near a boat with two Vietnamese fishermen. As they approach and look inside
the pod, it is revealed to be that of David, who is encased in a web-like substance. Meanwhile,
due to damage sustained from hitting the debris, Miranda's navigation system malfunctions and
fails, and she screams as her pod is sent hurtling into deep space. David, still alive, tries to warn
the unwitting fishermen not to attempt a rescue. The fishermen open the pod door as two other
fishing boats arrive.

Cast[edit]
Jake Gyllenhaal as Dr. David Jordan, USA, ISS medical officer
Rebecca Ferguson as Dr. Miranda North, UK, CDC quarantine officer
Ryan Reynolds as Rory Adams, USA, ISS flight engineer
Hiroyuki Sanada as Sho Murakami, Japan, ISS systems engineer
Ariyon Bakare as Dr. Hugh Derry, UK, ISS exobiologist
Olga Dihovichnaya as Ekaterina Golovkina, Russia, ISS Mission Commander
Production[edit]
On November 18, 2015, Deadline reported that Daniel Espinosa would direct a film set in space
and titled Life, from a script from Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, which Skydance Mediafinancing
and producing, with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn.[4] Paramount
Pictures was circling to handle the distribution rights to the film, though the deal was not
confirmed.[4] On January 28, 2016, Rebecca Ferguson came on board to star in the
film,[5] and Ryan Reynolds subsequently joined, on February 16, 2016.[6] On March 10, 2016, Jake
Gyllenhaal was cast in the film.[7] On March 15, 2016, Sony Pictures signed on to handle the
worldwide distribution rights and co-finance the film, with Skydance.[8] On June 23, 2016, Hiroyuki
Sanada was cast to play one of the members of the International Space Station crew,[9] and on
July 19, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Olga Dihovichnaya and Ariyon Bakare were
also cast in the film, playing other crew members.[10] One scene of the film features a recycled
shot from the 2007 film, Spider-Man 3.[11]
Principal photography on the film began on July 19, 2016, at London's Shepperton Studios.[10] To
emulate the lack of gravity, the actors were suspended by wires that wound up erased in post-
production. Most of the visual effects were handled by Double Negative,[12] aside from the eight
minute long take that opens the movie, done by Industrial Light & Magic using the ISS model
sculpted by Double Negative.[13] That scene was described by Daniel Espinosa as "the inverse
version of Gravity. Gravity looks at the vastness of space through the oner. I wanted to look at the
claustrophobia." Espinosa said that Life was "shot to make a science fiction movie that ties into
this other great American genre, which is noir", with the death of the most charismatic character
that seems to be the protagonist - using Psycho as an example, Espinosa explained that "Ryan
[Reynolds] became my Janet Leigh." - and a downer ending.[14]
Composer Jon Ekstrand wrote his sixth score while working with Espinosa. Ekstrand aimed to
create "a atonal-horror score with some melodic elements", mostly focused on orchestral music
while opening with "more melodic and classical cinematic" tones to not give away the horror
trappings early on.[15] Espinosa specifically told Ekstrand to seek a sound reminiscent of Bernard
Herrmann, with some influence from Gyorgi Ligeti to reference the music from 2001: A Space
Odyssey.[14]

Release[edit]
Life was released on March 24, 2017, by Columbia Pictures, after being moved up from its
previously announced release date of May 26, 2017, to avoid competition with Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Alien: Covenant, the latter of which had moved up its
release date from August 4, 2017 to May 19, 2017.[16][17] Life had its world premiere at South by
Southwest on March 18, 2017.[18]

Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Life grossed $30.2 million in the United States and Canada and $70.3 million in other territories
for a worldwide gross of $100.5 million, against a production budget of $58 million.[3]
In North America, Life opened alongside Power Rangers, CHiPs and Wilson, and was projected
to gross $1217 million from 3,146 theaters during its opening weekend.[19] It ended up debuting
to $12.6 million, finishing 4th at the box office, behind Beauty and the Beast, Power
Rangers and Kong: Skull Island.[20] In its second weekend, the film grossed $5.5 million, dropping
to 8th at the box office.[21]
Critical response[edit]
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 67% based
on 202 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Life is just
thrilling, well-acted, and capably filmed enough to overcome an overall inability to add new
wrinkles to the trapped-in-space genre."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 54 out of 100,
based on reviews from 44 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23] Audiences polled
by CinemaScore on opening night gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal said of the film, "For all its flashy trappings, weighty
ruminations and zero-gravity floatings aboard the International Space Station, Life turns out to be
another variant of Alien, though without the grungy horror and grim fun. In space no one can hear
you snore."[25] Describing the theme of outer space, Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times said
"As the astronauts contend with airlocks, busted equipment and escape pods, it becomes
increasingly difficult to pretend that this isn't territory where more inventive screenwriters and
stronger visual stylists have gone before."[26] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone faulted not the scenes
but the performances, saying there was "not a single actor in Life who manages to fill in and
humanize the blank space where a character should be."[27]
Michael O'Sullivan of the Washington Post approved of these character flaws, saying the
"conflicting dynamics of their individual temperaments lead occasionally to poor decision-making.
While this may be bad for their health, its great for the movie," adding that "Life has cool effects,
real suspense and a sweet twist. It ain't rocket science, but it does what it does welleven, one
might say, with a kind of genius."[28] Richard Brody of The New Yorker complimented this balance
of character and plot from the director, saying "Espinosa's sense of drama is efficient, familiar,
and narrow; if there's a moral sentiment to his direction, it's precisely in the limits that he imposes
on the movie's dose of pain and gore."[29] Kenneth Turan of the LA Times opined that Life, with
a mise-en-scne of the International Space Station, was "a wonderful setting for a meal we've
tasted before," adding that it is "undeniably satisfying to be in the hands of a persuasive director
who knows how to slowly ratchet up the tension to a properly unnerving level."[30]

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Life". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
2. Jump up^ "'Life' Director Daniel Espinosa, Treading on Ridley Scott Terrain, Waterboarding
Denzel, Ryan Reynolds' Growth -- Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Life (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Jaafar, Ali (November 18, 2015). "Daniel Espinosa To Direct Life For David
Ellisons Skydance". Deadline. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
5. Jump up^ Kroll, Justin (January 28, 2016). "Rebecca Ferguson to Star in Skydances Sci-fi Pic
Life (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
6. Jump up^ Jr, Mike Fleming (February 16, 2016). "Deadpool Star Ryan Reynolds Orbiting Mars
Mission Thriller Life For Skydance Productions". Deadline. Retrieved April 10,2016.
7. Jump up^ Kroll, Justin (March 10, 2016). "Jake Gyllenhaal Joins Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca
Ferguson in Life (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
8. Jump up^ Jr, Mike Fleming (March 15, 2016). "Sony To Co-Fi, Distrib Skydance Mars Pic Life;
Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson Star". Deadline. Retrieved April 10,2016.
9. Jump up^ Pedersen, Erik (June 24, 2016). "Taylor John Smith Dives Into Hunter Killer; Hiroyuki
Sanada Gets Life". Deadline. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b Kit, Borys (July 19, 2016). "Jake Gyllenhaal Sci-Fi Thriller 'Life' Adds Two". The
Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
11. Jump up^ Alexander, Julia (March 14, 2017). "Spider-Man 3 footage is being used in the trailer
for the upcoming space movie, Life". Polygon. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
12. Jump up^ LIFE: Huw Evans VFX Supervisor Double Negative
13. Jump up^ LIFE: Mark Bakowski VFX Supervisor Industrial Light & Magic
14. ^ Jump up to:a b 'Life' Director on the Ending He Insisted Couldn't Be Changed
15. Jump up^ 6 questions with Jon Ekstrand composer of LIFE
16. Jump up^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 6, 2016). "Warner Bros. Makes 2017 Date Changes
To King Arthur, CHiPS, Annabelle 2 & More". Deadline.com. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
17. Jump up^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 19, 2016). "Seth Rogen-Bill Hader-Zach Galifianakis
Astronaut Comedy Moves Off Release Schedule". Deadline.com. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
18. Jump up^ McNary, Dave (February 22, 2017). "Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds Space Thriller
Life to Close SXSW". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
19. Jump up^ "Can Power Rangers Slay Disneys Beast at the Box Office?". TheWrap.
 20. Jump up^ "Family-Branded Films On Fire At The B.O.: Beauty And The Beast Embraces $81M;
Power Rangers Mighty With $42M+". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
21. Jump up^ "Boss Baby Cleans Beauty And The Beasts Clock With $51M+ Opening; Ghost
Shell-Shocked At $20M+". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
22. Jump up^ "Life (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
23. Jump up^ "Life reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
24. Jump up^ "Life". CinemaScore on Twitter. March 24, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
25. Jump up^ Morgenstern, Joe (March 23, 2017). "Life Review: From a Single Cell, Growth and
Regression". Wall Street Journal.
26. Jump up^ Kenigsberg, Ben (23 March 2017). "Review: In Life, Extraterrestrial Fun, Until
Someone Gets Hurt". The New York Times. NYTimes Co.
27. Jump up^ Travers, Peter (March 23, 2017). "'Life' Review: This A-List 'Alien' Rip-Off Is Seriously
D.O.A.". Rolling Stone.
28. Jump up^ O'Sullivan, Michael (23 March 2017). "Life is no picnic for a crew of astronauts, but a
real treat for the audience". The Washington Post.
29. Jump up^ Brody, Richard (March 24, 2017). "Life Is Full of Horrors". The New Yorker.
30. Jump up^ Turan, Kenneth (24 March 2017). "'Alien' Haunts Outer Space Thriller 'Life'". Los
Angeles Times.

See also[edit]
List of films featuring extraterrestrials
List of films featuring space stations
Slime mold

External links[edit]
Official website
Life on IMDb
Life at Box Office Mojo
Life at Rotten Tomatoes
Life at Metacritic
Life at AllMovie