What a breath of fresh air Gravity is. Coming after a summer packed full of mostly disappointing blockbusters that put generic destruction and thousands of faceless deaths ahead of character and heart, Gravity provides both in spades and is more tense, thrilling and visually stunning than any of the big budget, heavy hitters could even dream of.
Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first expedition to space to repair the Hubble telescope. She is under the watchful eye of Matt Kowalski, a veteran astronaut on his last mission played with wise-cracking calm by George Clooney. Director Alfonso Cuaron quickly establishes the character of both through an opening sequence that sees Stone nervously struggle to keep her lunch down while Kowalski nonchalantly zips around the shuttle, bantering with Mission Control, voiced by Ed Harris in what is surely a nod to Ron Howard’s space disaster Apollo 13.
It seems like smooth sailing up there, until an attempt to destroy an old Russian satellite sends a chain reaction of debris hurtling towards them, incapacitating their shuttle and leaving both astronauts untethered and essentially stranded in space.
What happens from there shouldn’t be spoiled but suffice it to say, it’s an enthralling cinematic experience that works on numerous levels. It works most obviously as a technically astounding thrill ride, with Cuaron using cutting edge CGI to create a familiar setting in a way that the characters can inhabit with the appearance of zero gravity. Many computer generated spectacles, however impressive, feel false and there’s always that nagging feeling that what you’re watching isn’t real. With Gravity, no matter how many scientists try to spoil the fun by pointing out inaccuracies, it all feels authentic and completely immerses us into the action.
Cuaron’s signature continuous takes also feature heavily – including the bravura opening shot that lasts 13 minutes – and what’s notable is how he manages to blend all of this into the film without any of it feeling showy or distracting. He interweaves long takes, computer animation, live action and even 3D – so often the scourge of movie-goers – in a way that is as artful as it is immersive.
Beneath Cuaron’s visual master class lies a very human story of loss and grief, with Stone’s current predicament serving as a potent allegory for rebirth and letting go of the past. However, there are times the script – written by Cuaron and his son Jonas – hammers home these themes a little too heavily and some of the dialogue is clunky and unnecessary.
On screen for the majority of the film, Sandra Bullock shines, adding soul and tenderness to her innate likeability and anchoring the film superbly. George Clooney has less to do but proves well cast, his performance surprisingly skewing more towards Danny Ocean than Michael Clayton but it works. His charm and cheesy, well-worn stories are as reassuring to the audience as they are to Bullock’s character.
It remains to be seen whether Gravity is the masterpiece many have been quick to label it – only time will tell on that front – but it’s certainly a fresh and wondrous film that should be experienced on the biggest screen possible and in 3D. Few films have been really essential viewing in 3D, even those that have used the medium well (Hugo, Life of Pi, Dredd) but the extra dimension makes Gravity’s swooping camera and floating space debris even more effective.
Masterpiece or not, this is the work of an expert visual director and an innovator behind the camera crafting an intense cinematic rollercoaster ride that manages more thrills and spills than the big budget beat ’em ups that command two-or-three-times the budget.
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