REVIEW: Gravity

Imagine having no oxygen.  You're breathing in nothing but CO2.  You feel lightheaded, but you still have to make it to a safety zone.  You're surrounded by space debris traveling thousands of miles per hour.  You only have a little amount of time.  This is just one of the many challenging situations that the characters are placed into during Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity.  Gravity is a psychological thriller like no other.  Alfonso brings the film a raw edge, and it succeeds due to its originality, its breathtaking visuals, and the spot-on acting from the stars.

The plot for Gravity is straight-forward.  It tells the story of bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) on her first space shuttle mission.  Accompanying her is space veteran Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who is on his final space mission.  Together they are working on space shuttle Explorer when a shower of space debris from a Russian satellite test comes past the shuttle.  During the debris shower, Explorer is damaged, causing Stone to become separated from Kowalski.  Stone needs to find Kowalski, because together they need to find a way back to Earth.  Otherwise, they'll die in space, lost in an endless mass of black, never to be seen again.

This movie could have easily been a cheesy summer blockbuster.  But it's not.  Alfonso adds a raw edge and enough character development to save it from being a bad movie.

Watching Gravity is like re-experiencing cinema.  It's so unique and original that you'll have a hard time comparing it to another movie.  Yes, it is a space film.  And yes, space films have been made before.  But the way this story is told is so original.  Unlike other space movies, Gravity puts you right up with the stars.  You literally feel what the characters feel and experience the tension they feel in space.  There are even some sequences when you take on their point of view and see what they see, adding more suspense to the film.

As one might expect, though, the primary selling point of this film is its visual effects.  The visuals in this film are simply perfect.  I never once felt out of the scene.  Everything seemed so real, from the space explosions to the sunrise over the Earth.  Speaking of space explosions, the disasters in Gravity are flawless.  Not only do they look real, they sound real as well.  By that I mean, you see the explosions, but you can't hear them because you're in space, where sound ceases to exists.  This is a fact that many other space films seem to gloss over, but Alfonso sticks to the stark realism of outer space.  The only sounds in the film are Sandra Bullock's deep breathing inside her helmet and the music score.  Other than that, the only things you'll hear are the characters talking into their radios.

Without doubt, this movie is entirely character-driven.  The plot is pretty simple: survive.  The characters need to go from one destination to the next and only have a little amount of time to do it.  If the movie relied on plot alone, it would have been boring and suffered.  But Sandra Bullock and George Clooney manage to breathe life into Gravity.  The stars add depth to their characters and make you more invested in them.  You actually care if they survive or not.  This was not an easy task for the actors, particularly because you never really get to see their whole personalities and how they interact with other people.  Because the whole film takes place in outer space, we never get to see their families, their houses, or anything about their past.  We only hear about them.  And yet, you are drawn into Dr. Stone and Matt Kowalski.  But make no mistake, the posters may say the film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, but Bullock is the real star of the film.  Gravity is told from her perspective, and so it is her story we follow.  Bullock nails the character and the range of emotions she goes through realizing she may die soon in the middle of nowhere.

Gravity could have easily been a flop, from its jarring opening to its even more jarring ending.  But once you see who directed the movie (Alfonso Cuaron, who directed the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and who produced the movie (David Heyman, who produced all the Harry Potter films), you'll understand why the movie came out being so good.  Technically, its brilliant.  Visually, its stunning.  Dramatically, its intense.  And the acting is solid throughout.  If you're looking for a good, unique cinematic experience that pulls you into uncomfortable situations, then I highly recommend this movie.  If you experience vertigo, claustrophobia, or even a fear of open spaces, then this film probably isn't for you.  But from my perspective, Gravity is a must-see that I can see being nominated several times at the upcoming Academy Awards.

RATING: 4.5 / 5

This movie is rated PG-13 (intense perilous sequences, some disturbing images, and brief language)