Gravity

Before you say anything, yes, Gravity has problems with character development and occasional moments of terrible dialog, but that’s forgivable. You see, rarely does a movie demand itself to be seen in its full big screen 3D glory, and Gravity is one of those films. Once the theater lights darken and you’re left staring at vast emptiness of space it is both awe inspiring for the beauty, grandeur and then the feeling of insignificance begins to sink in.

Alfonso Cuaron had been working on this film for years, and it was one I always tried to read the latest news on. It sounded so daring, and I couldn’t help but wonder who would finally land the leads and how would they successfully accomplish the visuals? Advances in technology is the main answer to the second question, and the revolving door of actors to the first is proof that eventually the right person for the part will come around.

Now I know I’m generally known for not being the biggest fan or supporter of Sandra Bullock, but she impressed me here. That Oscar she won for that overrated Hallmark movie? Yeah, she deserves it for this one. While her character has several moments of thin writing, sheer star persona helps smooth those transitions. But she effectively makes the transition from damaged, introverted scientist to smart, tough survivor smooth. I’ve often said that Bullock seems adrift in her dramatic parts, her main skills are pratfalls and comedic mugging, but there’s something about the role and her persona that created a great marriage of actor and character. This is one of the few times that I found her emoting and dramatic work highly effective and very strong.

I’ve always enjoyed George Clooney, he’s a grand movie star and a great actor in his own right. Gravity gives him another variation of her star persona – a cocky professional who is good at his job and calm in a crisis – before giving him more depth and somber tones to play. Once more, problems with hammily written lines or holes in character motivations are polished off by casting a star who has played a variation of this role before, but still manages to bring a humanity to it.

And if Emmanuel Lubezki doesn’t finally win an Oscar for his masterful cinematography, I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. Not only are many of the shots incredibly long and tricky, but they’re happening in a purely digital place that must be matched later on with live action footage. No easy task in the slightest bit, but Lubezki delivers his typically strong, confident work that features so many stunningly beautiful images that the often talked about one of Bullock in a fetal position may not even be the best one, aesthetically. It is certainly the most emotionally arresting and deservedly famous.

Of course, I haven’t even begun to describe the plot of Gravity, but truly, the trailer gives most of it away. It’s a survival story in the desolation of space. If that isn’t frightening to you, I don’t know what else could be. There’s also a strong undercurrent of rebirth, of re-finding your inner self and core of strength. And perhaps Gravity is so effective at this because it throws us up into space in which communication, availability of food or water, basic things one needs in order to survive are in short supply. Yes, there is tremendous beauty to look down on earth from a god’s perspective. But I didn’t find God in the emptiness of space, I was just reminded of my own mortality.