In Space No One Can Hear You Gasp Wow !

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2015)

I had an excuse for missing GRAVITY when it came out . I wasn't all that keen on Mexican director's Alfonso Cuaron's CHILDREN OF MEN and I wasn't overly impressed with the rather threadbare premise of GRAVITY . Every time I discussed it with someone who'd seen it the conversation went something like this:
"There doesn't seem to much to it . Sandra Bullock gets trapped in space. Is that all there is to it?"
"Well yes Theo but what it does it does very well and the three D is absolutely fantastic. There's a scene where..." then I'd get details of how the magic of cinema comes to life to an IMAX large screen
Fair enough but I'm someone who's interested in a strong story and having a film revolve around visual set pieces not too dissimilar to CHILDREN OF MEN wasn't enough to tempt me to buy a cinema ticket for GRAVITY . Somewhat typically after seeing it on my laptop I am now kicking myself that I didn't watch it on a massive screen with 3D glasses on an IMAX screen
When I was about twelve years old I read Nigel Kneale's novelization of his own 1979 QUATERMASS serial and early in the story there's a space disaster where a space station breaks up . Kneale compares it to a shipwreck where the lucky ones are killed instantly because those inside the space station are not protected in the airless vacuum of space and die quickly . Not so fortunate are those space walking outside in their spacesuits and will probably survive many hours or even a couple of days until their oxygen runs out . It is a terrifying , lonely death , almost like being buried alive except being buried alive is a claustrophobic death where as drifting in space is an agoraphobic horror . Cauron nails this horror of a space death very well . What's worse: suffocating in a tiny space capsule or suffocating inside a spacesuit in the vastness of space ? Go on choose one and like every other person who has seen the film we're propelled in the shoes of Ryan Stone where if she doesn't survive the mission she will die a terrible lonely death
As I said the story is rather thin and concentrates on visuals and this is in no way to be taken as a criticism . Cauron uses cinematography and editing so breath taking I could barely believe my eyes . One sequence relatively early in to the film sees the camera pan in to the face of Stone , but it does stop there because the camera then pans in to the helmet of Stone the camera is actually inside the space helmet . The editing is so seamless I was gasping "How'd they manage to do that shot ?" . The film continues in this manner where one stunning and thrilling sequence gives way to another . In a recent review of RUSH , another film released in 2013 I asked myself why Ron Howard's movie didn't pick any up Oscar nominations but to be honest no film would stand a chance with the technical merits of GRAVITY which is absolutely perfect on a visual level , a fact reflected by its sweeping of the boards at the 2014 Oscars though it lost out to 12 YEARS A SLAVE . It must be said however that 2013 was an exceptional year for film making
!!!!! SUGGESTIVE SPOILERS !!!!!
Very few films are perfection and GRAVITY is not an exception to the rule . There are a few elements of manipulation going on such as Stone being a mother therefore the audience are supposed to feel for her even more but this isn't necessary and I was totally caught up in her ordeal without the need for any backstory or violins playing over the score . There's a plot turn about two thirds of the way through that I instantly knew was a hallucination . I also have the feeling the laws of astro-physics were constantly being bended if not broken and the ending wraps everything up a bit too conveniently to be entirely credible. When this is said and done however it doesn't really matter because the flaws are very minor and the ordeals and setbacks Stone finds herself in are a testimony of humanity's courage and spirit of adventure while GRAVITY itself is a testimony to the modern wonders of cinema .