Unashamedly heterophobic

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2014)

I expected to join this movie more than I did. And to some extent that was actually true: I did enjoy it more than I did. But in other ways I felt it could have been so much more, and if it had been, I would have enjoyed it as much as I'd expected to.
The plot itself is very thin: we start with a disaster which segues into another disaster, which segues into another disaster... etc... until finally we run out of disasters and all of a sudden everything's OK. Which is a bit of a letdown to be honest.
Nevertheless this was an excellent science fiction film, with the most realistic depiction of gravity-free space in the history of cinema. The interior of the Soyuz capsule was painstakingly accurate, perfectly reproduced right down to the last switch and button.
But it's easy to get lost in the visuals and forget that they merely constitute a vehicle for the message.
Gravity is replete with potent symbolism. I was impressed by its complex exploration of social identity, consciousness, environmental issues, economics, and human sexuality.
The last of these was the most obvious; phallic imagery everywhere, except in the scenes with George Clooney (who stars in a role better suited to Ben Affleck). That was a massive clue, and once I picked it up I could see exactly what the director was saying.
There are constant references to 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is more than just a homage; it's a complete remake of Kubrick's epic film. The mystical 'star birth' sequence is replicated with elegant sensitivity.
As the men die off one by one (*cough*misandry*cough*) Bullock's character questions herself constantly. She has no idea what she's doing there, any more than we do. Her monologue is halting and reluctant, as if she's reciting lines she has rehearsed beforehand.
Is she really a mother? Does she know what being a mother is? She seems to believe she has a daughter, yet we never see the daughter. What does the daughter represent? The obvious answer is 'lesbianism' (remember, all the men are dead! big hint!) but perhaps that's too obvious? As in real life, the tension of this existential dilemma is never quite resolved.
Many critics have identified 'Gravity' as unashamedly heterophobic, and I can't deny that. As a heterosexual man I did find it very challenging. Yet I still felt it spoke to me as a film-goer, but more importantly as a human person. It was an enriching experience.
I rate 'Gravity' at 26.64 on the Haglee Scale, which works out as a solid 8/10 on IMDb.