Gravity (****)
Directed
by: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring:
Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris (Voice)
Seen:
October 19th 2013
****
Out of ****
It rarely
happens that you get to see a movie like Gravity. It’s completely immersive and
very much unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If you can see it on the big-screen
and in 3D it would be highly beneficial, as both add an excessively convincing element
of immersion. The story is relatively simple and might not even be entirely
plausible, but it’s so engaging that you might not ever think on it. Gravity is
almost its own genre, as it readily combines science fiction (not Star Wars
science fiction, but a fictional story driven by mostly accurate science, in
space) with strong survivalist and even some religious drama. And the result is
remarkable.
On a spacewalk
mission to do routine maintenance on the Hubble Space Telescope, Dr. Ryan Stone
(Bullock) and her fellow astronauts, commanded by Matt Kowalski (Clooney), are
warned of incoming space debris. The debris is the product of Russia destroying
an obsolete satellite, and that explosion causing a chain reaction as it passes
through even more satellites. Unable to get back to their shuttle in time, and
even this would have been futile, Stone is separated from the shuttle and is
set drifts in space. Kowalski, the only other survivor, is equipped with a
jetpack of sorts, and hauls Stone back in. The two are adrift in space, and
their only possible salvation is an abandoned International Space Station approximately
900 miles away, and the will to survive drives them on while the will to be
heard keeps them talking. When they miraculously reach the station they are
presented with an entirely new set of problems, as Kowalski’s jetpack has been
low on propellant for quite some time, and changing direction in space is quite
a challenge, not to even talk of managing to grab onto said space station. What
has transpired so far and what follows after this point is incredible, as
Gravity’s visuals and sound and tension and its portrayal of the human will to
survive blows everything away.
Sandra
Bullock owns the movie, and the viewer is with her all the way due to two
things: 1) The direction by Alfonso Cuaron and his cinematographer Emmanuel
Lubezki is phenomal, it draws the viewer in as a camera view seamlessly slides
into the view of the character, and in these moments the viewer feels as
breathless and as terrified as Dr. Stone, and 2) Sandra Bullock delivers the
most convincing portrayal of her life – whatever she says becomes a way for the
viewer to vicariously experience everything she feels, and whenever she says
anything we truly believe it, especially a lament from her that she never
learned how to pray – as viewer you feel that you want to reach out with an
offer of comfort and consolation, as she believes she’ll die.
The
visual effects are astounding, and the 3D does wonders with the viewer’s
perception of events, as the beauty of earth from space is starkly contrasted
with the ‘lost’ astronaut’s view of an earth they will never return to. Gravity
is an enormous achievement, it is one of the most engrossing movies I have ever
seen, and I believe I will continue seeing it regularly for years to come.
Gravity is absolutely phenomenal.
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