Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Gravity (2013) (PG-13)



     Since its announcement, Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity has garnered unimaginable hype. Cuaron is a very highly regarded director (most well-known for his post-apocalyptic epic Children of Men), and his hyper realistic space odyssey was looking like an intense, visually stunning thriller set in the dead of space. However, what we got in this movie is something quite different. And quite spectacular.
     
     This movie is, in my opinion, one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the past 5 years. A film that blends all of its elements together in perfect harmony like Gravity does is rare to the utmost degree. This movie perfectly mixes jaw-dropping visuals, acting finesse, and a rock-solid plot to create an experience that is completely immersive. 
     
     The movie opens with a single, 15- minute shot of Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) making repairs on the Hubble telescope, and right from the get go you know that this movie is something special. The camera moves through this scene with such breathtaking ease that I found myself wondering how on earth (no pun intended) they shot the scene. This sets the stage for the rest of the movie as well, which boasts throughout some of the best camera work I've seen to date. The swooping camera movements really give the sensation of being out in zero-gravity, and adds to the film's sense of immersion.
     
     The realism of the animation is astonishing. I found myself many times having difficulty distinguishing between reality and CGI, despite the fact that the images I was seeing couldn't have been real. There were several moments throughout the film where my jaw literally dropped at the breathtaking and horrifying sights I was seeing, whether it was a sunrise from space or a massive debris field smashing through a space station. Everything in the movie was gorgeous and realistic to the extreme.

     But, for all its dazzling visuals, this movie is still about the characters. The plot remains focused on Dr. Stone's personal issues back on earth (which I won't reveal in this review), and uses the deadly events occurring in the film as a vessel to help her deal with those issues. By the end of the film, she has become a stronger woman than before she ventured into space. We are completely invested in Dr. Stone's character for the entire film; we feel how she feels. We feel terrified when she's cast into space, spinning uncontrollably, and we feel happiness when she finally comes to grips with her problems. The audience basically become her for 91 minutes. This is largely due to Sandra Bullock's excellent performance, which captures every emotion the director was trying to convey perfectly. Clooney is also pitch perfect as the veteran astronaut on his last flight, with his cocky yet instantly likeable demeanour. However, the moment things start going wrong, he snaps into action and gets his job done. 

     As a whole, this movie is something different than it might seem to an average passerby. At first glance, it would seem to be just about two people trying to survive an extremely unfortunate series of events. However, while those events dominate the on screen activity, it's implied that there's much more going on here. As I mentioned earlier, this movie is about the characters, their personal struggles, and how they overcome them. The ending of the movie reinforces this, and while I won't reveal the outcome, the conclusion will make you proud to be human and make you want to jump out of your seat. While this movie dazzles on a level I have scarcely seen in terms of visuals, the characters are where this movie's true impact comes from, and why it is truly a masterpiece. 10/10

CONTENT: This film is fairly tame when it comes to negative content. Language is present, but for the most part it is mild and infrequent. Violence is also at a low, considering there are only 3 characters, but there is one scene that is rather gruesome and could be disturbing to some viewers. There is no sexual content. 

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