Beautiful, intense and so very simple

Rating: 9/10 (11 November 2013)

I like simple ideas and even more so if the results are as simple in it's execution. But to get a truly well done minimalistic result a lot of work goes in to it. Sometimes even more than on more complex projects.
Gravity is simple. Very simple really. Sure there is a storyline. But there are no twists, no surprising external influences on the course of the story. There is a very limited amount of actors and elements we need to relate to. And there is no protagonist. It is as close as you get to a real life drama.
But in it's simplicity it is also extraordinary beautiful. And here it is clear the effort to make it simple is truly complex and monumental. Cuaron is a man known for long shots, swooping camera movements, toying with effects, point of view and other visuals. And it feels like this is what it all leads to. It is perhaps the most beautiful film I have seen in the cinema. It is crisp and truly awesome images we see. Even when everything is chaos and hopelessness sets in the images are beautiful and scary. The effect are just breathtaking.
My favourite scene involves an astronaut seemingly disappearing into darkness set against the Milky Way as a background. It is such a powerful images and full of so darkness and light and infinite space. It is a scary and yet awesome.
Clooney is great, Ed Harris is comforting and Sandra Bullock is at her best. And that is all there need to be said about the cast. That is all there can be said.
The 3rd act does turn into Hollywood film territory as the fight for survival comes to an end. And the turning point is quite clear to me in retrospect. But even during this Cuaron makes the film beautiful and suspenseful. Even if we know the outcome. Almost at the very end the whole cinema literally gasped.
Cuaron has made a breathtaking film using his usual tricks and his sense of visuals. I think this is the film of the year so far. Nothing has come close to the impact this film has had. For me and clearly for a lot of other people.
And watch it in 3D. It really works.