Review: Gravity

Sandra Bullock stars as rookie astronaut Ryan Stone, who is guided by the laidback attitude of more experienced astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). They are performing a fairly simple repair on the Hubble telescope when Mission Control sends word of a Russian satellite being hit and a shitload of debris is hurtling in their direction. They are unable to do anything about it before the shuttle is struck. They find themselves drifting through space before Kowalski manages to tether himself to Stone, and they soon discover their shuttle is damaged and the crew dead. They are all alone in the vast emptiness of space. And that’s just the beginning, folks.

 

An extremely simple but extremely effectively told story, this 2013 space-drama from director/co-writer Alfonso Cuaron (“Children of Men”, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) is a real winner, easily one of the best of the year. In fact, there’s only one false moment in the entire film, an ill-advised moment with Sandra Bullock: Master Animal Impressionist, that is a bizarre and unfortunate anomaly in an otherwise completely convincing film.

 

I was super-critical of Bullock’s Best Actress Oscar win for “The Blind Side”, one of the weakest Oscar winning performances of all-time and a borderline crap film to boot. This performance right here is the one she deserved a damn Oscar for, so it’s a shame she didn’t get it (She’s probably better than Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine”, but Blanchett had her first Oscar stolen by Gwyneth Paltrow and was owed one. And was bloody good, too). She’s immediately right here, and a very relatable presence on screen, managing to keep from being upstaged by some very impressive visuals. Some might quibble that her apparently able astronaut seems a bit too panicky and prone to making mistakes, but I actually forgot all that after a while and just went with it. Besides, she’s meant to be a rookie on her first space mission, and this isn’t a documentary, so of course things are going to be heightened. You have to accept that before watching a fictional film on almost any subject, really.

 

For me, the two most impressive aspects of the film are the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, and the incredible visual FX. Almost everything here is a visual effect, and at no moment does it fail to convince. In fact, I was so impressed and so fooled, that I initially wanted to credit Lubezki’s work more than the FX team, citing in my notes that it was the best cinematography of 2013. In hindsight, most of what I was seeing was due to the FX department, but it’s still undoubtedly the best-looking film of 2013, no matter who you credit. It’s remarkably crisp-looking, and one of the few films I’m genuinely sad I didn’t see on the big-screen, this one probably demands it to get full appreciation (I still wouldn’t opt for 3D, though. You know the drill with me by now). The sustained opening shot is pretty astonishing I have to say, and shot composition (whether what we’re seeing is digital or ‘real’) and camera movement is truly amazing throughout. I particularly thought the shots from ‘inside’ Bullock’s space suit were really nifty and unique. Hell, I didn’t even mind the use of lens flares for once. Some of it comes from the glare derived from lights or stars or something, not just flares/sunspots for the sake of being ‘cool’. In fact, the film’s look might even be considered awe-inspiring. And CGI or not, this would not have been a simple film to map out and make. I’m sure space nerds will be apoplectic at times, pointing out technical flubs and impossibilities, but to a film nerd like me, I bought this big-time (And so did Buzz Aldrin, apparently, so take his word for it. He’s actually been up there).

 

I also must credit Cuaron for getting us off and running within 15 minutes or so, the film doesn’t waste time setting things up and never gets bogged down. It’s also a film that puts you in the mind of space travellers and what it must be like for them up there, especially seeing Earth from a distance. If I were an astronaut, seeing Earth from a distance like that would get me thinking about humanity, Earth, my place in it, maybe even God. I have no doubt it would be a transformative, and certainly introspective experience (possibly existential). Can you imagine what it must’ve been like to be the first person to see Earth from space? Or to see anything beyond Earth? I bet a lot of people would’ve loved to have been that person. The film doesn’t get as spiritual as “Contact”, but the element is there, and even an agnostic atheist like me has to say it’s quite beautifully done. You’ll know what I mean when you see the film. This, by the way, was a film I really had no interest in seeing, and boy do I feel glad I did see it. I do wish parents would stop naming their daughters Ryan, though. My name is NOT unisex! Stop doing that to my name, damn it! Even Clooney’s character points it out in the film, and if Clooney says it’s a boy’s name, then that should damn well be the end of it!

 

Excellent camerawork + wholly convincing CGI + two charismatic stars= Hell yes. In a way, this is a stunning piece of artwork, visually. Yes, artwork. The performances and gripping story also deserve praise, and if Bullock’s panicky character is a problem, it’s the only problem the film really has. It’s the best performance of her career, unquestionably, and Clooney’s cool and assured performance is an asset here, instead of being too self-satisfied and arrogant as he can be otherwise (I want to punch him in the balls on those Nespresso ads. Am I the only one?). This in my opinion is the best film ever made about space exploration, at least the best outside of the sci-fi genre. It also gets in, does its job, and gets out before outstaying its welcome, which is much appreciated. Brilliant cameo by Marvin the Martian, too, and the actor employed to voice mission control, is both ominously and amusingly chosen (I’ll say no more on that). Cuaron wrote the screenplay with son Jonas.

 

Rating: B