Cosmos is a 2019 science fiction film written, directed and produced by Elliot and Zander Weaver in their feature film debut. The film stars Tom England, Joshua Ford, Arjun Singh Panam and Ben Vardy. It was released in late 2019 in the United States.
In it, three astronomers are out in the woods at night, looking at the sky. One of them stumbles across a signal of alien origin.
Trailer here
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Tropes in this film
- The Alleged Car: The car refuses to start when they need it to.
- Artistic License - Astronomy: Many.
- Astronomers generally use red lights instead of white, as they don't ruin night vision
- Setting up in the woods, rather than an open area, isn't a smart idea as trees block the sky.
- A 15-minute drive away at high speeds would still be too close to city light pollution.
- The giant radio dishes at the end are too close to the city - the radio noise would be too much.
- Artistic License – Physics: Objects can't stop dead in low Earth orbit as this spacecraft has. It could be using technology to hover there, but that's not orbiting. There are orbits that stay over one location on Earth but those are very, very, VERY far above low Earth orbit.
- As You Know: Several times astronomers and engineers already closely linked to the field have simple concepts expalined for the audience's sake, such as when Mike explains radio astronomy to Roy, complete with pictures.
- Bigger on the Inside: The car. It's a sport/utility/wagon, but Roy and Mike can sit comfortably at their computers sideways as if they are in office chairs.
- Chekhov's Gun: The tree trimmers are later used as bolt cutters.
- Companion Cube: Harry's telescope.
- Dislikes the New Guy: Roy, of Mike. Mike works for the company that fired Roy.
- First Contact: The story is about astronomers stumbling across an alien signal.
- First-Contact Math: Mentioned in the sending back of the Arecibo transmission.
- Jump Scare: When Harry returns and surprises Mike.
- Just Eat Gilligan: During the race against time they are packing the car when their discovery of alien life obviously trumps their material possessions.
- Ominous Floating Spaceship: It's said to be "in low earth orbit", but it stays in one spot somewhere between the satellite and the ground.
- Race Against the Clock: The final part of the movie is this, trying to get the car to where the computer can be connected to a battery before they lose the data.
- Riddle for the Ages: Why are the aliens contacting us in such a confusing way? Why are they here? Are they nice or are they here to kick ass? The main characters don't seem to be considering this, and movie ends before any of these questions can be answered.
