With its critical acclaim burning up the atmosphere of America as well as the international film circuit, expectation for Gravity has been high ahead of its November 8th UK release date.
Fortunately Gravity lives up to the huge expectation that has been hoisted upon its shoulders the world over.
The story is quite simple in nature, two astronauts, Dr Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (Clooney) are on a space mission aboard the Shuttle, Space Explorer. The aforementioned Ryan is on her first space mission while veteran Kowalski is on his last. Disaster strikes and soon the two are battling for survival as well as well as a way to get back home.
Gravity works because of two fundamental reasons. The first is that it actually makes you feel like you are in space, director Alfonso Cuaron in an interview said that he wanted the audience to feel like they were the third Astronaut watching all the action from that point of view. Cuaron achieves this very well through great point of view shots and his impeccable use of foreground and background.
The latter of which actually lends itself very well to the 3D experience of the film. Cuaron uses the 3D in a way that is not gimmicky but immersive, he composes a shot on two levels. The first of which can be very simple, one take set ups but all the time we the audience see something in the distance in the corner of our eye, so immediately that it swifts when it comes into frame.
The second type of shot is medium in which we can see a character in frame and they are trying to hold onto an object, and it is a quite at momentum getting away from them. The object is coming towards us in 3D. While it sounds gimmicky on the surface, it actually provides a great amount of tension and immersion as the audience is seeing before them that the character's plight is threatened because that object they need is getting away from them at a rapid rate.
The second reason Gravity works is because it deals with every facet and nearly every emotion one would have feel when in space. While the story is primarily one of survival, the film is not afraid to show us the hard aspect of being in space, the majesty of it, its beauty and the sheer terror and loneliness of it through its great attention to detail. The best showcase of this being the opening twenty minutes which show the work that the astronauts do in great detail and stunning clarity.
The screenplay is great in many different ways. The first is in its efficiency, it manages to deliver an exciting ninety minute experience while also providing a good character arc, some themes and do this well without baggage of exposition or flashbacks. And its exciting enough in its location changes that it does not come across like recent pictures such as 127 Hours and Buried.
The screenplay posits concepts such as letting go, spirituality and its function as well as rebirth and they are all weaved well within the narrative, the last of which mentioned makes for a very memorable last scene.
As for the acting, Sandra Bullock is the standout of the film, truly deserving a nomination for Best Lead Actress at the Academy Awards. The great thing about her performance is the balance she has between hopelessness and strive determinism. While on the one hand her journey is about letting go, on the other hand it is about gaining the passion for life back. And Bullock portrays all the elements of her character's plight and journey with a great believability and rigidity. Her best moments are in the latter half of the film when she is truly alone and her portrayal of fear and rejuvenation are mesmerising to watch.
George Clooney is the closest thing that can be called a comedic relief in the picture. Clooney`s natural warm presence is much needed relief here as the tension mounts, and while many may accuse him of phoning it in. Clooney really delivers and is a great anchor for the first half of the picture. His best moment is in a latter half of the film when he is consoling Ryan Stone about living on and through his vocal tones and stern expression, Clooney provides a reason for Stone to keep living, and its a greatly played scene which he incidentally wrote and Cuaron included.
Finally the film is really enhanced by the great score which is provided by Stephen Price. The great thing about the score is that it walks that fine line between being the sound design of the film and have a musical element that plays during scenes. The score has two particularly standout moments. The first is the overall motif that manifests itself every so often in the picture.
This being, the sound of air almost being compressed and held in and it finally unleashing which is used whenever a character is looking at an explosion or is in the wave of one. The other one is during the final moments in which Price almost evokes this African style type of music that has two function. The first is capping of the international flavour that the film has as well as being the emotional release of the film and it in tandem with the final images of the film were awe inspiring to witness.
Overall, Gravity really does deliver and really is worth experiencing. This is because of the fine tuned direction from Cuaron who simultaneous makes the viewer experience space in a way that has not been portrayed before and almost justify the need for 3D in doing so. This is in addition to fine performances from the lead actors and a score that is harrowing and beautiful in equal measures.
The Slovenian Philosopher and Cultural Critic, Slavoj Zizek in his analysis of Cuaron's Children of Men, said it is only films like this that can guarantee that cinema as art can survive. While I will attach the same sentiment to Gravity, as Zizek I will also add that a film like this can still make us wonder and marvel at the wonder of cinema and therefore still make going to the movies meaningful and inspiring.