Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Rated PG-13, 91 minutes
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in “Gravity.” (Courtesy photo)
Just when you thought the special effects-driven blockbuster movie had ruined cinema forever.
Of course there was going to be a movie that got every technical element just right, and who better to provide it than Alfonso Cuarón, the man behind such diverse and groundbreaking films as “Children of Men,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” and, of course, the third Harry Potter movie?
Playing as a possible allegory for depression or the stages of grief, “Gravity” follows Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”), a nervous medical expert on her disastrous first space mission. The mission captain, Matt Kowalski (George Clooney, “The Descendants”) is relaxed as can be as they head outside the ship to do some routine repairs. But when a cloud of debris from another satellite comes flying through their area, Stone and Kowalski become detached from their craft and go drifting off into the void.
Kowalski tries to keep Stone calm, and together they try to propel themselves toward the nearest spacecraft. The mission now is infinitely more dangerous, since any small misstep could send them flying off into deep space with no way ever to get back. Soon, Stone is forced to make tough decisions and attempt dangerous and difficult maneuvers to get herself to safety.
This is, first and foremost, a technology-driven movie, from the overwhelming long takes to the curious use of sound to the mind-boggling camerawork. Cuarón has gotten some flak for some of the movie’s scientific inaccuracies—and, to be fair, they are apparent even if you aren’t knowledgeable about space exploration—but he has mastered, without a doubt, the scientific elements of film. The shots are perfectly framed and cut together despite being done almost entirely artificially, while the sound effects are simultaneously a source of tremendous suspense and of comfort. The movie has the gracefulness and power of a dance.
It’s a setup that could have gone the route of Kubrick’s “2001”—that is, devoid of the human element, a true spectacle of effects and beautiful images. But Cuarón, along with his son Jonás, wrote in a couple of easy-to-digest backstories to make an otherwise unsympathetic movie sympathetic. And given their roles, Bullock and Clooney perform well.
Talking about the acting is almost a moot point, though, given how light the characterizations are and how the performances in such a technical movie don’t have to be breathtaking to be adequate. Bullock and Clooney are overqualified, really.
In fact, as can happen with these sorts of briefly addressed backstories, both script and actors lapse occasionally into theatrics, and it can feel like a distraction from the ambience, the sights and sounds, which are the core of the movie. One could argue that the movie would be better without Stone and Kowalski’s backstories and musings about what they miss on earth and what they love about space. Stone’s story, in particular, tries very hard to tug at our heartstrings; thankfully, Bullock plays her part very reservedly, reining in some of that tragedy.
Of course, one could argue that the backstories are crucial, and that wouldn’t be a bad argument. This is, really, a movie about establishing a feeling. You can watch this movie just for what the effects provide—a spectacularly beautiful show of the lights and darks and sounds and silences of space, on par with any space movie that’s come before it—and you won’t be missing anything. If you choose to watch for the sentimentality, for Stone’s courage and Kowalski’s heroism, you won’t be missing anything either.
I just don’t know if it’s to Cuarón’s advantage for the movie to function this way. I don’t know, even after thinking about “Gravity” for days, whether its technological triumphs add meaning to the story or if it’s the other way around. I don’t know if there’s depth and wisdom to the movie or if I’m deducing that it must be wise because of how beautiful it looks. The rabbit hole is deep, and “Gravity” is the opening.
Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
