A compelling love story, set against the steely grid of science fiction, "Solaris" features an ensemble cast of five characters. All possess a strong presence, as each is competing for sanity in the situation. Fight or flight here is a stark reality, perhaps the only reality.

Chris Kelvin (Clooney), a psychologist, receives a transmitted message from a friend and colleague, Gibarian (Tukur), who is commander of the space station Prometheus, orbiting the planet Solaris. He is in obvious distress and implores Kelvin to come and investigate the unexplainable events occurring onboard. Gibarian has committed suicide by the time Kelvin arrives. The remaining crew consists of Snow (Davies), a talented young scientist, who exhibits a kinetic energy, while lacking the ability to string together a few words to make a complete, intelligible sentence. Gordon (Davis) is a physicist and tough realist, who refuses to let anyone into her quarters. Kelvin questions her about what's going on, and as she closes her door against him, she promises they'll talk when it starts happening to him.

It doesn't take long. Kelvin awakes to find his long ago dead wife, Rheya (McElhone), in bed with him and looking very much alive. But is it really Rheya? Is she alive on this plane of existence? Or is the sixth character in play here? Solaris, the planet itself is a pulsating presence, which seems an almost pure energy form. Glimpsed occasionally through a window, its atmosphere is seen is beautiful and wondrous. An energy field surrounds it and thus the space station. It draws you into a state of at least confusion and at most insanity.

These invasive "visitors" appear to each crewmember and must be destroyed and Prometheus returned to earth, according to Gordon. And she has devised a way to eliminate them. Presumably, she has blown her apparition to kingdom come and proposes to do the same with the others. But on the off chance that these are real beings, are you blowing a second chance to perhaps do it better? So the dilemma.

A science fiction film without special effects, we instead have the elements of time and space, on a continuum, overlapping, telling a great story. There is a deliberate claustrophobic feel to the space station. A sense of isolation is imperative. Interiors are important, both the sets and the characters' emotions. Each character has an arc and there is satisfaction in determining which you feel develops most.

The filmmakers were intrigued with both the novel and the 1972 Russian film of "Solaris," precisely because there is room for interpretation. James Cameron, a producer here, and writer and director of "Titanic," allows "This film takes you to the farthest reaches of the universe, and what you find there is yourself." In this regard it reminds us of "2001: A Space Odyssey." "The theme of predestination is crucial," says writer/director Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic," "Erin Brockovich"). The notion of redemption appealed to him as well. And one character says in the film "There are no answers, only choices."