Review 283: Gravity
After debris destroys their space shuttle, two astronauts, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) desperately try to return to Earth.
The plot is very simple, but underneath it is not only a very powerful human story but a master special effects extravagansa. The movie starts and it literally never stops.
The whole movie is relentlessly paced.
The whole film is essentially George Clooney and Sandra Bullock trying to get home to Earth and it is gripping from start to finish. There was, surprisingly, never a dull moment.
Not only is it a non-stop thrill ride, it's a story about survival, sacrifice and the Value of human life.
Even though, Gravity is a "sic-fi" film, Director Alfonso Cuaron has referred to the film as "a drama of a woman in space.
Adversity: Again and agin, Stone & Kowalski attempt to return to Earth in one piece and they come up against one obstacle after the other. Cuaron makes effective use of debris as a metaphor for this.
Even though the film is set in space, Cuaron uses motifs from shipwreck and wilderness survival stories about psychological change and resiliance in the aftermath of a catastrophe i.e.
Survival: The majority of the film revolves around Sandra Bullock and George Clooney's characters attempts to return to Earth.
Value of Human Life/Resilience of life: The majority of the film is set around Ryan Stones attempt to return to Earth and along the way the film questions what she has to live for as she has lost her daughter in an accident and she generally has nothing left to live for and as a result at some points in film she wants to give up returning to Earth.
In this way, Cuaron uses the character of Ryan Stone to illustrate clarity of mind, persistence, training, and improvisation in the face of isolation and the mortal consequences of a relentless Murphy's Law.
The film also includes spiritual themes both in terms of Ryan's daughter's accidental death, the will to survive in the face of inevitable death, as well as the futility of rescue. Calamities unfold but there are no witnesses to them save for the surviving astronauts. As the movie goes on you stare in wonder at Ryan Stone who's desperately trying to make it back to Earth, but at the same time having nothing left to live for due to her daughters death.
Human Evolution: The film opens with an exploration of space with Dr. Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski and in one scene Stone rests in an embryonic position, surrounded by a rope strongly resembling an umbilical cord.
Writer/Director Alfonso Cuaron's direction is astonishing, his use of his signature single take during the space sequences is truly remarkable, the cinematography is amazing, this film contains some of the most beautiful and realistic shots of planet Earth ever seen on film - Beautiful iconography. The score by Steven Price is beautiful, the production design is brilliant, the costumes are marvelous, the special effects are tremendous, the sound effects are precise (they recreate space so well as to having no sound), the scenery is breathtaking, the tension is gripping/killing (and thats what makes this film this film so good, just the tension that these characters are in peril. You get the feeling of "please live, please live" the whole time you're watching this film). And the ending was heart renching.
The acting is sensational, the performances of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock are extraordinary and they're persistance to survive and teamwork is moving.
Bullock has the most compelling character arc, however, mainly due to the psychological changes she goes through. Her perseverance, determination, desperation
Gravity is a beautifully crafted sci fi film and Alfonso Cuaron's best film is recent years, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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