You can walk around outside, grab coffee, hang out at a park, and still go to bed feeling completely empty inside. Actor Jacob Elordi found himself wrestling with that exact contradiction while stepping into Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic, The Dog Stars.
Playing the lead role of Hig—a pilot surviving a devastating post-apocalyptic flu pandemic in Colorado alongside his dog and a gun-toting survivalist named Bangley—forced the actor to confront deep questions about modern human nature. When you have safety, food, and modern comforts readily available, why do we still wake up wondering what's missing? That existential itch forms the emotional core of the film, which adapts Peter Heller's acclaimed 2012 novel.
The Reality Behind The Make-Believe
Filming out in nature changed how the production operated. Instead of leaning heavily on green screens, Scott opted to shoot scenes practically, utilizing the rugged peaks of Italy's Dolomites to stand in for a fractured American landscape. Elordi noted that looking around at actual environments made the make-believe feel far too close to home.
When you look at real-world climate crises, scorched earth from wildfires, and global disruptions, stepping onto a set depicting the collapse of civilization feels jarringly plausible. It's easy to dismiss dystopian cinema as pure escapism, but projects like this hit differently when current events mirror the script.
Examining Modern Privilege and Discontent
Elordi isn't the only cast member who found parallels between the film's desolate world and our current reality. Co-star Guy Pearce, who plays Pops, points out how easily people overlook daily luxuries. Walking into a supermarket to buy fresh food or waking up safe with family is a reality millions of people past and present haven't experienced.
Pearce, raised in Australia and familiar with the brutal impact of local bushfires, sees these cinematic warnings as increasingly urgent. Both actors draw from their upbringing in a country frequently battered by climate extremes, grounding their performances in an awareness of how fragile modern infrastructure actually is.
Why the Existential Questions Still Resonate
Audiences often search for meaning in survival stories because they strip away the noise of modern life. When your daily routine consists purely of securing resources and staying alive, trivial anxieties vanish, yet deeper psychological questions remain.
If you've ever felt completely burnt out despite having a comfortable life, you understand the paradox Elordi highlights. We have access to endless entertainment, global connectivity, and relative safety, yet societal anxiety continues to spike.
Pay attention to the small habits keeping you detached from your immediate environment. Step outside, put the phone down, and appreciate the physical world before waiting for a cinematic wake-up call to remind you what matters.
