Apollo 13 (1995)
There are few films more moving than Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. Firstly, there is the amazing feat of the human race actually managing the send people to the moon in a giant tin can. Secondly, there is the extraordinary skill and effort deployed by people – in space and on the ground – working together to bring them back from the moon safely when that tin can has a hole in it. Thirdly, there is the devastation of training for years to actually set foot on a surface other than that of our planet, only to sail by within a few miles of that objective, knowing that it is just out of reach.
It is the shot of Commander Jim Lovell (Hanks), resigning himself to reality as the stricken NASA module Odyssey carries the three-man crew of Apollo 13 over their landing site on the moon and back towards Earth that is utterly heartbreaking. There are no tears, and there is no anger or resentment. There is only the calm acceptance that he and his crew-mates – Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) – “lost the moon.”
In terms of the career of Tom Hanks, it is unusual in that it calls upon him not only to play a real person, but also to play the person who co-wrote the book upon which the film is based. Apollo 13 is an adaptation of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage Of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kruger, so Hanks is, in many ways, portraying a version of a man largely outlined from that man’s own narrative. Hanks bears that responsibility well, and deftly conveys the impressive leadership qualities of Commander Lovell. But, crucially, he is also one part of a three-man team, and the leading actor blends seamlessly into this bonded group.
At the same time, Hanks is also portraying the importance of these real events on a personal level. There are several elements at play here. As Jim Lovell, he is a husband, a father, a son and a friend. He is also a highly skilled and experienced NASA astronaut, whose dream and ambition it is to walk on the moon. Over the course of the film, Hanks’ performance effectively communicates the emotional rollercoaster of preparing for the mission, launching the mission, suffering a catastrophic equipment failure in space, contemplating the very real possibility of death, being responsible for the lives of his crew-mates, and watching his professional ambition literally float by the window, into history.
