From the moment I saw the teaser trailer for Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, I was intrigued. After watching it in 3D I was overwhelmed by its spectacular grandeur. The premise is very simple, when debris from a satellite crashes into their space shuttle, it sets Bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and mission commander Matt Kowalkski (George Clooney) stranded. To make matters worse, Dr. Stone is set adrift when she is forced to detach herself from a piece of the shuttle that had broken off. Just the thought and idea of floating aimlessly in space was enough to make my stomach churn.
This event happens quite early in this 91min adventure. The rest of film deals with how do they get back home? How do they communicate with mission control while being “in the blind”? The tagline for Gravityis ‘Don’t Let Go’. I found myself not wanting to let go either. You can’t help but cheer for their driven spirit for survival. But at the same time, you also can’t help but feel a sense of loss for the obstacles that challenged that spirit for survival. We quietly watch and silently pull for them to succeed.
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| Sandra Bullock as Dr. Stone and George Clooney as Matt Kowalski |
While space, having never been there, is so vast. Gravityfelt very claustrophobic. Which I think was whole point by Director Cuarón. He wanted his audience to feel what they were feeling. To be able to experience that sense of helplessness and yet take a moment to see the bigger picture that life has to offer. There are so many things we tend to take for granted and yet life moves so quickly that we don’t realize what can be lost in an instant.
Gravity is as much a metaphor for life as it is a well made, well acted Science Fiction film. Sandra Bullock is outstanding in the lead role and George Clooney is his charming self. As for Director Cuarón, who’s screen credits include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Menand Pan’s Labyrinth he is a visionary artist and his camera is his palette.
If you can, I urge you to see this film in 3D. 3D films are now a dime a dozen and most a complete waste of time and money. Gravity is neither. Go see it and whatever you do, don’t let go.
Gravity ***1/2 (out of 4)
Gravity ***1/2 (out of 4)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
Hugely moving and even, at times, terrifying, this is, without a doubt, the best mainstream American pic of the year thus far – gasp!