Dark Matter

This inspired-by-a-true-story drama of an astrophysics student from Beijing (Liu Ye) doing his graduate studies stateside under a superstar of theoretic cosmology (Aidan Quinn) is best while observing the nuances of cultural collision and emotional frailty. Director Chen Shi-Zheng effectively depicts the bubble of academia and the equally defining cultural bubble of immigrants living together in the comfort of their own language and customs, as he underplays the drama of the student's disillusionment when the ideals of American academic freedom are undercut by the petty politics of academia. He just never makes the abrupt, startling climax convincing. Meryl Streep, however, is wonderful as a patron of the arts who volunteers to help the Chinese students in America. No supplements.