Review: Gravity (2013)

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Country: USA | UK
Genre: Sci-Fi | Thriller
Official Website: Here

Editor’s Notes: Gravity opens in wide release today, October 4th. For an additional perspective on the film, please read Kamran’s review.

Gravity is an appropriate title for Alfonso Cuaron’s latest epic, because while it positively soars with a staggering realization of the vastness of outer space blended with a wrenching story of the human will to survive, there is a curious flaw that keeps trying to bring it back down to Earth. Story and character are often flagrant sacrifices in any film that’s supposed primary purpose is to showcase stunning visual effects, but that’s not the case in a Cuaron film. Instead, the concerted attempt to develop complex characterizations that inform the – admittedly powerful – themes of the film almost becomes an over-earnest distraction, elegant in its intent but overstated in its execution. Coming from an ambitious visualist like Cuaron, one might expect the themes to be informed subtly in the aesthetic details. That they are instead stated outright, literally, sometimes in explicit dialogue soliloquies, is jarring…enough to momentarily knock the film out of its vivid stratosphere. But what a stratosphere it is.

Gravity is an appropriate title for Alfonso Cuaron’s latest epic, because while it positively soars with a staggering realization of the vastness of outer space blended with a wrenching story of the human will to survive, there is a curious flaw that keeps trying to bring it back down to Earth.

There hasn’t been as enormous a vision of outer space since Kubrick’s 2001, back in 1969. Any comparison between these two films is loose at best…except in terms of scope and ambition. Over four decades ago, Kubrick set out to explore the cosmos from an inward, psychological perspective. Now, Cuaron aims to explore the same vast, interplanetary network in an external, emotional fashion. In theme and content, the films couldn’t be more different. But they share a glorious wonder, taking our most awe-inspiring visions of the universe and turning them into a cinematic experience that immerses, envelopes, consumes.

Perhaps most stunning – and most effective – is the film’s juxtaposition of vast space and tiny humanity, both figuratively and literally. Our collective self-centeredness can often make us forget, but we are but a speck on the face of this planet, let alone the entire universe. Gravity, with a visual plane that sucks the audience into its seemingly infinite space, is a black-hole-sized reminder. So, too, is the story, which is intimate and often solitary, even in this cosmic context. There are two primary characters, only one other physical being we witness on-screen, and a couple voices heard via space station communication systems. That’s it. Hard to imagine an immense space opera could actually force the audience into claustrophobia, but that’s what Cuaron accomplishes here.

He also accomplishes some of the most perfectly orchestrated long-take shots in cinema history. His 2006 thriller, Children of Men, became one of that year’s hot commodities for its extended takes and visual ingenuity, but with utmost respect, Gravity makes that work look pedestrian in comparison. The film opens with a sequence that flows seemingly freeform through space, traveling the area and perimeter of an American space station, capturing the glory of the atmosphere, the complexity of the spacecraft, and the static echo of astronaut voices. This shot – and many others – feels endless, as if the entire film could be contained inside a single take. Of course this work is all digital, and there are surely many hidden cuts in addition to the explicit ones, but the true accomplishment is the seamlessness of this visual world. Cuaron uses all the tools at his directorial disposal to craft a cinematic universe that flows in seeming perpetuity – not unlike the galactic universe.

As one might imagine, Gravity relies heavily on its visual invention, which is groundbreaking. IMAX 3D is the only true way to fully experience its power; this is the most accomplished and immersive 3D experience in cinema history.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney headline the film, and this is the kind of movie that lends its stars iconic movie-star roles but also requires them to deliver gut-wrenching performances that test their mettle. Bullock is Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first aeronautic trip; Clooney is Matt Kowalski, a veteran astronaut on his last. Their mission is fairly routine: repair a damaged space telescope and come back home. But of course, nothing can be that simple. The collateral damage of a destroyed Russian satellite has created sporadic debris fields, the first of which hurtles past the station on which our heroes are docked, destroying their shuttle, killing their comrades, and leaving Stone and Kowalski – the lone survivors – stranded with limited air supply and few viable options for returning home.

The 70 minutes that follow serve as a veritable nerve test, as one dire scenario gives way to another, pushing the boundaries of the characters’ will and testing the strength of the edges of the theater seats. There’s something Spielbergian about Cuaron’s approach to suspense, which builds to a fever pitch before momentarily subsiding, then ratcheting back up again. All the while, that most inescapable of all hazards – the lack of oxygen – always lurks in the background, a constant threat even when there are no immediate cosmic dangers.

As one might imagine, Gravity relies heavily on its visual invention, which is groundbreaking. IMAX 3D is the only true way to fully experience its power; this is the most accomplished and immersive 3D experience in cinema history. But the heart of the film is in the performances – specifically Bullock’s, whose character is the soul of the piece. The power of woman – and specifically, motherhood – has always run strong in Cuaron’s work, and the unique focus on a woman’s survival in a male-dominant genre is, in its way, as visionary as the film’s visual palette. And Bullock makes us believe her every quiver, crafting a brilliant performance acting largely against a green screen.

There is the matter of the screenplay, which explores the human will to not only survive, but to live. It’s a powerful concept, though it’s a little disconcerting that a visual master like Cuaron would somehow be unable to convey his themes without having Bullock speak them audibly in the dialogue. There is, however, the notion that someone marooned in space might begin speaking their thoughts audibly, for who else is there to talk to? Besides, that is but a minor quibble, a small field of gravity in a film that otherwise soars.

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Jason McKiernan

Sr. Staff Film Critic & Awards Pundit

I married into the cult of cinema at a very young age - I wasn't of legal marriage age, but I didn't care. It has taken advantage of me and abused me many times. Yet I stay in this marriage because I'm obsessed and consumed. Don't try to save me -- I'm too far gone.

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