Gravity is all cinema should be.

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2013)

Gravity is all cinema should be. Perilous, contradictory, cathartic, insightful. It's a film about everyone and a film about just one person. It results in a film that's at once the biggest scale film possible and incredibly intimate and personal. This is a rare event to be treasured. After one of my all-time favourite films Children of Men, the brilliant sensual Y Tu Mama Tambien and the best of the Harry Potter films Prisoner of Azkaban, it was quite clear that Alfonso Cuaron is a talented director who will stand the test of time. Which meant he was free to take his time as it seemed like we were waiting forever for Gravity, coming 7 years after we last saw him. I read the script while it was still playing the festival circuit and even on paper, it was compelling, moving and unpredictable. Even though I knew what happens, I couldn't have been more excited and the hype was the highest it's been for a film in a long time.
And what a total full-body full-soul roller-coaster it was. Like the rest of the world, I had tears in my eyes the whole time with my jaw dropped in awe and my breathing in sync with its protagonist. It captures the human condition in all its physical and meta-physicality. Needless to say about its true star, this is most likely the best visual effects there's ever been. It seems every year we're going to get a special effects laden blockbuster from an auteur that innovates the technology, gathers all the technical Oscars and attempts to use it to its full artistic potential. Sometimes that potential is limited, with Martin Scorsese's Hugo and James Cameron's Avatar disappointing. Sometimes that potential is pretty good, with Ang Lee's Life Of Pi and Christopher Nolan's Inception satisfying enough. But it's never been quite as extraordinary as Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity.
Combined with the careful and stunning use of sound design and Emmanuel Lubezki's thrilling and intelligent cinematography, its conviction provides a convincing and heart-pounding experience. It has ideal pacing as it stays suspenseful yet is able to breathe. There's a priceless excitement and cinematic magic with excessively unbroken shots that films of all genres indulge in, but Gravity takes it to another level in its shots that last over 15 minutes. Sure there was undoubtedly extensive post-production work involved to stitch shots together but that work was meticulous that you can't help but get swept away in the illusion. In the IMAX, saw a trailer for the next Hobbit film beforehand and I immediately regretted what I had gotten myself into. 3D just doesn't seem ready to do justice to its name. I only ever enjoyed it once and that was Toy Story 3, where the filmmakers had control of all the layers.
However, Gravity may be the first live-action 3D film I've seen to actually make it work. Life Of Pi may have deserved some of its acclaim, but it only worked in certain shots. That's because not all the layers were designed for 3D. Gravity has the benefit of having very few layers - often it was only astronaut and/or space station, Earth, background resulting in more control and less to get in the way. In the script the distances between things were often miles apart, but with nothing to obstruct the view. 3D enhances that sense of scale and makes it immersive and utterly visceral. Even now, life still feels so small scale in comparison. Despite its limitations of plot and character, it's extremely rewarding that Gravity is a film where every viewer takes something different and valuable away from it. Whether it be about a woman's plight with gravity, the human instinct of perseverance or simply having a story to tell.
The idea that stuck with me most is the acceptance of death. If not now, if not in an hour, then anytime in the future. It's something that has always motivated art and Gravity hits the spot. While it is thanks to the depth of the writing in such an action packed film, reading the script didn't have the same effect. It's due to Sandra Bullock's committed performance. There's a lot to admire in Bullock and George Clooney's performances. The way Gravity was shot required them to repeat actions to the milli-meter. For them to still incorporate soul into their characters with such restrictions requires genuine talent, and although I skipped The Blind Side, I definitely believe in Bullock. That said, Clooney is getting a lot of the complaints in that he's irritatingly 'just being Clooney.' While I feel I can defend that in the level of precision required in every take that the fact he does 'just do Clooney' is a feat in itself, the film does suffer from its Hollywood cheese-charm dialogue. It does add an essential flavour in the otherwise sparse film, but its timing is the problem, and often it feels inappropriate.
Unfortunately, that 'Americanised' appeal added to the film also damages the score, that too often feels invasive and manipulative. It's a great score, but it needed to be dialled down a few notches for a more subtle and graceful effect. Regardless of these minor inconsistencies, Gravity is an instant iconic film for the ages. It may be another special effect heavy film that will most likely play second fiddle to something more to the Academy's taste, assuming the predicted 12 Years A Slave/Gravity love split stays strong til Oscar night, but this time it's a completely worthy one. Even detractors have to admit, in many ways Gravity is simply astonishing. However, the concern is - how will it fare on DVD? Is this exclusively a 3D IMAX experience? We'll have to wait a few months to find out but I urge anyone to witness it in that way rather than tablets and phones. Now I'm going to find an even bigger screen to watch it again.
9/10