Documentary Review: "Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know" (2021)
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know Documentary Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Giant Pictures
Written and Directed by Peter Galison
2021, 98 minutes, Not Rated
Released on March 2nd, 2021
Starring:
Stephen Hawking as Himself
Andrew Strominger as Himself
Malcom Perry as Himself
Sasha Haco as Herself
Review:
Hopefully you’ll pardon the terrible pun, but I couldn’t resist the pull of a documentary about the quest to photograph a black hole. I’m not exactly the “Big Bang crowd” (more of the “horror, pro wrestling, D&D crowd”, really); still, I figured that when you throw in a heavy dose of one of the greatest minds of our time in Stephen Hawking the result would be a can’t miss documentary.
While that didn’t turn out to be overwhelmingly true, there’s still enough to love in Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know to take this voyage of discovery with Dr. Hawking and his fellow physicists on the mission to get the first true image of the black hole named M87 from actual hard data.
The team behind the Event Horizon Telescope use a series of telescopes all across the remote parts of the world- from Mexico to Hawaii to Chile to the South Pole- to coordinate an image grid that will, in essence, turn them into one super telescope powerful enough to observe the edges of the black hole and render it fully visible for the first time. Meanwhile, Hawking and his team of the world’s foremost physicists (and dear friends) are trying to solve his black hole paradox at the heart of theoretical physics debates- do the laws of physics still function inside a black hole? It’s a daunting task and an even more daunting question, but these amazing minds are pushing science into new territory and capturing the journey for us all.
Talk nerdy to me, baby…
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know operates on a couple of different levels as a documentary film. The Event Horizon Telescope team’s “Black Hole Initiative” and Team Hawking are at the upper echelon of science. They’re tackling the impossible questions and doing it with tenacity, keen intelligence, and unbelievable patience and dedication. It’s genuinely inspiring to watch. As a wonderful bonus, the bond of friendship between Stephen Hawking, Andrew Strominger, Malcom Perry, and Sasha Haco is the emotional core of the film and it damn sure delivers. It’s hard to tire of Stephen Hawking, of course, but seeing these unbelievable geniuses operate as a collective is fascinating. Hawking’s 2018 death is covered, and it’s pretty powerful. His impact is undeniable and treated with great respect. The story of human curiosity and dedication is told to perfection here.
Like I said, I’m not the “Big Bang crowd”, and that brings me to the other aspect of the film. The hard science is given the same respect and time during the 98-minute runtime. The more technical aspects of the film make for a drag that only hardcore theoretical physics junkies may be able to grasp. I’m no idiot, but a lot of the science flew right over my head. And that’s fine- the human aspect in all this hard science wins you over easily. The drag, however, is undeniable. Sheldon Cooper and company would wallow in it, but it’s a bit of a slog at times.
Luckily for us, director Peter Gailson utilizes a slew of slick graphics and educational models to “dumb down” the science for us. He pairs that with simple and rather sublime animation to highlight the philosophy behind all the physics that you may or may not quite get. That cohesive thread keeps the overall narrative smooth enough to make for an overall enjoyable experience for the average nerd like myself and brings a deeper meaning to the proceedings. The Mensa crowd will absolutely eat this one up, tough. You can bet on that.
Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know is a passion project where the passion shines through loud and clear, a love letter to a giant of theoretical physics (and some would argue pop culture as well, but that’s for another day…). It’s also a real thinker that may make even some of you smarty pants feel a little more grounded, but that’s alright too.
I think Stephen Hawking would agree that we can’t surpass our boundaries until we know what they are. Or, in the words of Jesse Pinkman: “Yeah! Science, bitch!”
Grade:
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
