Gravity (2013) Review

Lucas Versantvoort / 21 September 2014

I’ll just sum up this entire review in one sentence: this film is a glorious, thrilling ride hampered only by its awkward drama. That’s Gravity in a nutshell. Talk about a 5 second review… But I can’t just leave it at that. I have to present arguments and fill a page or two. So let’s do this.

            In one of the smallest ensembles ever assembled, we have a group of astronauts consisting of Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and a third unknown, Shariff Dasari, who I’m very sure will have a long and healthy live ahead of him… There are also a few off-screen actors present like Ed Harris as Mission Control, who is obviously there as an in-joke for those who’ve seen Apollo 13. All three are (more or less) doing adjustments and repairs near a space shuttle, when suddenly they receive a warning that debris is headed their way. This causes Dasari to get killed (absolutely did not see that coming…) and Stone to tumble through space only to get picked up by Kowalski. What follows is their quest to get back to earth safe and sound. Honestly, to go any further with this synopsis would be futile, as trying to describe Gravity is like trying to explain a rollercoaster ride; you’re much better off experiencing it firsthand…

            The rollercoaster ride metaphor (though overused) is apt as that is exactly what Gravity is, nothing more or less. Director Cuarón, cinematographer Lubezki and the entire visual effects team behind them have taken a great step forward in visuals if nothing else. The use of 3D is unobtrusive and used for making you feel like you’re in space, save for a few scenes where objects are hurled at the camera which is the easiest trick in the 3D book. So impressive is the rendering of space that when Ryan finally emerges from the water on earth, it also came as a bit of a shock for me as well. Like Ryan, I felt like a fish out of water, despite only sitting in a theater seat for a mere hour and a half. That’s the magic of cinema right there.

            But alas, the everlasting need for plot rears its ugly head. I was quite honestly surprised by the awkwardly executed drama. I get that drama is needed to generate audience sympathy so that we start actively rooting for Ryan as opposed to not giving a shit about the proceedings, but I expected way more from the director of Children of Men on this front. Every time the film reverts into storytelling mode, like when Stone says “I had a daughter” I feared this would be the low point of the film and unfortunately I was right. I get that she has to overcome her doubts, her past and find this primeval urge to survive, but these were the parts that made me cringe. Ryan gets this big crying scene where the dialogue is as subtle as the average Japanese anime and the only good thing about it is when her tears float up and hit the camera, creating little blurry dots, a bit like the blood on the camera effect in Children of Men. One has to wonder whether or not it would have been better if the whole dramatic backstory was cut and replaced by crafting a character solely through subtle dialogue and subtle movements etc. than through an overly melodramatic backstory. Honestly, the only thing I found moderately well-executed were what I can only assume are symbols of (re)birth and evolution: the fetal position scene, the emerging from the primordial ooze at the end, etc.

            Poor and uninteresting storytelling aside, the real star are the visuals, the various action sequences and Lubezki’s cinematography. As long as you’re able to handle the handful of times the melodrama rears its head, what you’ll get is an actual cinematic experience, a bit of a rare find these days.