A minimalistic piece of cinematic beauty

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2013)

"Gravity" is a perfect example of how special effects can be used in an extraordinarily clever fashion to enhance the story instead of trying to tell it.
This very minimalistic movie, with only two characters on screen, is visually stunning. It follows the aftermath of a space shuttle being hit by debris which leaves two astronauts adrift in space with all the odds against them.
Space, with its vastness, unpredictability and empty silence becomes a character all in its own as our protagonists try to survive. That's when the special effects create a fantastic, wondrous world that captures the audience as it lays trap after trap for Ryan and Michael, played wonderfully subdued by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Especially the former, who totally plays against type and succeeds.
You're never at ease, you never what know what's coming, what's true or what's an illusion and I don't think you'll ever feel the same about going into space.
The short running time, the tension build-up, the intensity and the (for me) very satisfying ending make this a movie that you really shouldn't miss; it is a unique and beautiful piece of cinematic art. Movies which generate this kind of hype usually draw a lot of regular movie goers while driving away those with a more sophisticated taste. This time I'm pretty sure neither group will be unhappy.