A wonderful panic attack

Rating: 10/10 (21 November 2013)

For the first time in a long, long time, a film made me feel like a kid again. From the very first (long and glorious) shot of Gravity I was completely lost in the world Cuarón created for me, and for the next ninety minutes I was on the edge of my seat and struggling for breath. It was like a 1.5-hour panic attack - a wonderful, wonderful panic attack. Suspension of disbelief hadn't been so easy for me in years, and part of it was the masterful use of 3D - by far the best I've seen so far - but most of it was thanks to Cuarón's directorial work. This was a perfectly paced thriller, pure cinema at its most condensed, the editing, the sound, the cinematography, the acting all coming perfectly together to keep my eyes glued to the screen (or to the 3D glasses). Leaving the theater, I was stumbling, still not feeling quite at home in normal gravity.
Then I went on the film's board to see people's impressions - and sure enough, it was filled to the brim with complaints about the various scientific inaccuracies and implausibilities in the film. I'm something of a geek myself and plot holes drive me mad. But I just don't get how so many people could hate a film like Gravity so much. Comparisons to Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff seem ridiculous to me; this wasn't about a real space mission, it wasn't about the space program or technology, it was a thriller/adventure focused on atmosphere, character study and a semi-spiritual journey that character goes through in the hostile territory of unfamiliar life. Sure, looking back at it, a lot of it wasn't very realistic, but when a film works on as many levels as Gravity did, I really feel sorry for people focusing on the little flaws - and I'm so happy that for once I didn't.