KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 ― George Clooney’s upcoming post-apocalyptic film The Midnight Sky may not be the cheeriest of films to watch to ring in the holidays.

But its powerful storytelling about human connection following a mysterious global disaster makes for an unforgettable watch that couldn’t be timelier as we reflect on the events of 2020.

Perhaps it’s the activist in him trying to warn us about where we are headed if we aren’t careful.

Malay Mail caught up with the Hollywood star ahead of the Netflix film’s release to find out what gives the father of two hope when he thinks about the world his three-year-old twins Ella and Alexander will inherit.

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“I’m always optimistic ― I’m a realist, I do look at things and say, ‘I understand what’s going on, I can see what’s going on’,” he said via Zoom from Los Angeles recently.

Clooney stars and directs the Netflix film about a lone scientist in the Arctic who must stop a group of astronauts from returning to Earth following a mysterious global catastrophe. ― Screengrab via YouTube/Netflix
Clooney stars and directs the Netflix film about a lone scientist in the Arctic who must stop a group of astronauts from returning to Earth following a mysterious global catastrophe. ― Screengrab via YouTube/Netflix

“We see what happens in different countries around the world, in particular, my country for instance for the last four years but we fixed that ― it takes us some time.”

In the adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s acclaimed novel Good Morning, Midnight, Clooney plays Augustine Lofthouse, a lone scientist in the Arctic who races against time to stop Sully (Felicity Jones) and her fellow astronauts from returning home to an unnamed catastrophic event.

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The 59-year-old, who had to shed 11 kilogrammes for the role, also directed the film which was shot in England and Iceland.

Joining Clooney and Jones in the cast lineup are David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir, Tiffany Boone and newcomer Caoilinn Springall.

Clooney who was named People magazine’s Person of the Year for his lifelong activism is a big believer in the Martin Luther King, Jr quote “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.

“I believe that as time goes on, we are going to be a more perfect union,” the Gravity actor said.

“You can see in the kids who don’t understand bigotry the way my generation thinks of bigotry, they don’t even understand it.

“And I can see it in the idea that they care about the planet a lot more than people of my generation care about the planet.”

The two-time Oscar winner also spoke about being inspired by the March for Our Lives student-led demonstration in 2018 to protest gun violence in the US.

“I was at the March for Our Lives where all these million kids marched down in Washington, DC to say it’s our lives that are at risk, not yours, not your gun rights ― we’re marching not for a cause but for our lives.

Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo in a scene from ‘The Midnight Sky’. ― Screengrab courtesy of Netflix
Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo in a scene from ‘The Midnight Sky’. ― Screengrab courtesy of Netflix

“So I’m fascinated and always feel buoyed by the idea that young people are inspiring and I’m always hopeful that we will make it better,” said Clooney, who is married to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.

He recalled the amount of time it took to oust former Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir who is now being charged by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

“I mean, we chased down Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for 15 years and failed and failed and failed.

“Most of my life in that world has been a failure but he’s in the docket now and he’s going to face a trial.

“And so it takes time sometimes but I’m optimistic about things,” Clooney said.

The Midnight Sky starts streaming on Netflix from December 23.