Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film is a mesmerizingly beautiful piece of work as well as a grand achievement in cinematic spectacle. Never before has Hollywood come this close to giving us the feeling of what it truly is like to be in space, although I’ve never been there myself and can only imagine what it is like. Cuarón and his team have crafted this film so terrifically I can’t help but marvel at the technical brilliance behind it all. In addition, Sandra Bullock presents us with a fantastic performance that embodies what many would likely feel trapped in the seemingly endlessness of space.
Gravity begins with a number of long shots that are composed near perfectly, showing us the vast expanse of the earth laid out far below the astronauts, and their beautiful view of all of us. Cuarón follows Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) upside down and swivels the camera around to give audiences the incredible feeling of weightlessness. It’s rare that I praise the use of 3D for artistic effect, but not since Avatar has it felt this appropriate and skillfully deployed.
Not long after we learn that Dr. Stone is in space for her first time to install some new technology she developed onto the Hubble telescope that trouble begins. Mission control, cleverly voiced by Ed Harris in a nod to his roles in Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff, informs the crew that debris is heading their way fast following a mishap with some Russian satellite tests. Before they know it the debris is there, flying everywhere around the Explorer and Hubble telescope. Dr. Stone is disconnected from their shuttle and begins to drift away from the structure out into space. Kowalski follows after her with his jetpack device, but the Explorer has been too damaged for them to travel back to earth with it.
Gravity begins with a number of long shots that are composed near perfectly, showing us the vast expanse of the earth laid out far below the astronauts, and their beautiful view of all of us. Cuarón follows Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) upside down and swivels the camera around to give audiences the incredible feeling of weightlessness. It’s rare that I praise the use of 3D for artistic effect, but not since Avatar has it felt this appropriate and skillfully deployed.
Not long after we learn that Dr. Stone is in space for her first time to install some new technology she developed onto the Hubble telescope that trouble begins. Mission control, cleverly voiced by Ed Harris in a nod to his roles in Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff, informs the crew that debris is heading their way fast following a mishap with some Russian satellite tests. Before they know it the debris is there, flying everywhere around the Explorer and Hubble telescope. Dr. Stone is disconnected from their shuttle and begins to drift away from the structure out into space. Kowalski follows after her with his jetpack device, but the Explorer has been too damaged for them to travel back to earth with it.
George Clooney plays Matt Kowalski, the seasoned space shuttle pilot, with the space-cowboy approach you would probably have expected from Clooney. He’s witty and charming, but also kinder than he first seems; so basically he’s most Clooney characters. Sandra Bullock is required to dig deeper to evoke grander emotions, and her performance is both a physical and a psychological one. In fact it might be her best performance yet. Dr. Stone spends a significant amount of the film alone, struggling through the void above our planet. This is for her both a mission of rebirth and of survival. Cuarón packs in a number of moments of symbolism and reference to the metaphysical. In approaching this tale, which is at its bones a simple survival story, with the artistic mind Cuarón has and the metaphors for psychological rebirth it becomes so much more. While obviously drawing from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gravity changes things up by looking inwards towards the motivation within us all.
At times Gravity does suffer from the mounting implausibility of it all, as one unlikely event stacks on top of another, though there was nothing so outrageous that I felt it too impossible to ruin enjoyment. In addition, Dr. Stone’s tragic back-story feels somewhat unnecessary, as we already sympathize with her more than enough as a likeable astronaut alone in space. Despite these smaller criticisms, Gravity truly is a fantastic cinematic experience, and I highly recommend you go see it in theaters.
At times Gravity does suffer from the mounting implausibility of it all, as one unlikely event stacks on top of another, though there was nothing so outrageous that I felt it too impossible to ruin enjoyment. In addition, Dr. Stone’s tragic back-story feels somewhat unnecessary, as we already sympathize with her more than enough as a likeable astronaut alone in space. Despite these smaller criticisms, Gravity truly is a fantastic cinematic experience, and I highly recommend you go see it in theaters.