By the time the opening shot of “Gravity’” appeared on the screen I already knew that I’d made a terrible mistake. Being a typical, vehicle-lacking college student I decided to see the film at Sundance cinemas to avoid the hour-long bus odyssey needed to get to an IMAX screen. Unfortunately, Sundance was only screening the film in 2D. It seemed like the logical choice at the time, but I now see the error of my ways. I totally repent to director Alfonso Cuaron for not seeing his masterwork of digital imagery on a screen that could do it justice.
“Gravity” is a film that demands to be seen and heard to the fullest extent possible. It was created to be an immersive sensory experience and by seeing it in any form but 3-D you’re depriving yourself of some of the most absorbing visual escapades in recent memory. And as a disclaimer, I’m not generally a huge advocate of 3-D, since about 95 percent of the time it’s just a blatantly obvious gimmick to raise already inflated ticket prices. Yet, in this case, it’s truly integral to the look and feel of the movie.
“Gravity,” for anyone not in the know, is the tale of two astronauts, seasoned pro Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and specialist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), who is on her first mission. While out on a routine maintenance spacewalk they are informed by Houston that debris from a Russian satellite has set off a chain reaction of destruction in Earth’s orbit. And Houston, do we ever have a problem because the debris field is now hurtling toward Kowalski and Stone at blistering speeds, fast enough to rend shuttles apart and tear through the human body in seconds.
When Stone and Kowalski’s ship, The Explorer, is damaged beyond usability, the two must tie themselves together and attempt to reach safety before the debris field returns. Now, before I wax poetic about how astoundingly gorgeous the film’s rendering of space is and the mastery of their simulation of zero gravity, I’d like to devote a moment to Bullock and Clooney.
Clooney’s Kowalski is a joker, regaling Dr. Stone and the team back in Houston with amusing anecdotes and bringing charm and normalcy to the abyss of the universe. Perfectly at ease in outer space, Clooney is the guiding hand for Dr. Stone during the crisis and he plays the role well. Yet, Kowalski sometimes seems overly calm, collected and self-sacrificing in the face of likely death. A bit more human frailty and fear written into the character could have increased his realism and appeal.
But enough on Clooney because, of the two, Sandra Bullock’s character is the emotional centerpiece of the film and, a la Ellen Ripley in “Alien,” she has to carry much of the narrative on her own. Bullock puts in a strong turn as Dr. Stone, communicating the breathless disorientation and terror of her situation admirably.
Stone was left emotionally scarred and detached from life by a personal tragedy and much of “Gravity” is devoted to the rebirth of her desire to live. Bullock’s performance is helped by some excellent point of view camerawork as she clambers over and through wrecked spacecraft, searching for a way back to Earth, but also suffers some eye-roll inducing dialogue. For instance, gems like “No one ever taught me how to pray” and “Either way, it’ll be a hell of a ride” near the climax of the film were pretty groan-worthy, but Bullock commits and does her best with them.
Still, in the end the true star of this film is the gorgeously rendered vista of the galaxy and the camera that careens through it in the incredibly long takes for which director Alfonso Cuaron has always been recognized. The effect is involving and exhilarating, placing you firmly in the film’s universe. And while the characters and script don’t match the richness of the visuals, the tribute it makes to the human spirit—as well as the thematic parallels to the struggle for the origin of life in a harsh universe—give the film emotional heft and an inspirational quality.
While I’m not sure the film will become an instant classic they way many are predicting, it is without a doubt a landmark achievement in cinema that restores a sense of awe and wonder to the medium, a quality that few other recent visual effects extravaganzas capture. Rather than taking us to an imagined digital wonderland like “Avatar,” it painstakingly imitates the wonders and terrors of our own universe, reminding us of the strength and resilience of life and simultaneously revealing its inherent unlikeliness and fragility.
Rating: A-
