"Gravity"

Rating: 8/10 (14 October 2013)

Gravity" is the story of two people who find themselves marooned on that most desolate of desert isles—outer space.Alfonso Cuaron, who wrote (along with his son, Jonas Cuaron)and directed "Gravity," is unarguably one of the best in the business and, by adding "Gravity" to a list including the impressive "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Children of Men," shows himself to be one of the most versatile, as well. Unlike the other two, which deal with relationships between, in one case humans and in the other societal forces. "Gravity" is about the interaction between one person and the void of outer space—in other words, nothing.
Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a medical researcher and space newbie, is visiting the ISS for the purpose of some experiment or other. We're never told what it is, but that doesn't matter. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), is a veteran space man and, apparently, Stone's minder and affable tour guide on this seemingly routine mission. Other than a voice from "Houston," they are the only characters in the film--but make no mistake about it, this is Bullock's show, and, in large part, a one- person show. It's a risky place for an actor, or a director, to go--if it fails, it fails miserably. The dialogue must be authentic, the pacing needs to be spot on, and action sequences must be perfectly placed to keep the audience's attention and break up the monologue in the right places, and Cuaron, with the exception of a few lines of dialogue, gets it right. There are no draggy bits begging to be over with. There is no voice-over interior monologue in "Gravity"--all of Ryan Stone's thoughts are spoken and that can be heavy burden to bear.
It's always exciting to see an actor successfully step out of their comfort zone and that's what Bullock does in "Gravity." She's frequently played fish-out-of-water characters before—an alcoholic in "28 Days," an undercover cop/beauty queen in "Miss Congeniality" and an inspiring, rebellious Dallas suburbanite in "Blind Side." But here she is not only outside societal norms (It appears she is a wounded loner back on earth and, besides that, not many people go to outer space), but outside the realm of humanity generally.
What there is of unspoken introspection is provided by Matt Kowalski's dialogue. Clooney plays Kowalski perhaps a bit over the top. Although we expect supreme competence from an astronaut, he is at times too calm, too chatty, coming off as comfortable and cheerful floating around in space, untethered to the space station, as he would be at a backyard barbecue. But that's okay—he's there mostly as a foil against which Bullock works. Not to mention, Clooney is an exceedingly likable actor and listening to his, for the most part, one-sided banter provides some much needed subtle comic relief from the tension and sense of chilling helplessness
"Gravity" is essentially a thriller and, like most thrillers, everything is going along just fine until something goes terribly awry and the protagonist is called upon, against dread and self-doubt, to rise to the occasion. In this case, Stone and Kowalski find themselves stranded in outer space—not in the space station, mind you, but floating around in space suits—without any communication with "Houston" and a good distance from the space station.
One of the most refreshing things about "Gravity" is Cuaron's use CGI. It's unnoticeable, seamless, and he avoids falling into the pit of a CGI fest, like almost every other director who has access to a computer seems to do. He strives for an accurate portrayal of the space environment, and does it elegantly. Even the casual science geek could fine some implausibilities and downright violations of the laws of physics, but they are minor and more than made up for by what the film gets right and it's feel of authenticity. It truly seems like these two are in outer space. (Besides, much of what Jason Bourne could pull of with a broken cell phone and candy wrapper stretches notions of possibility, as well, and that doesn't seem to bother us too much.)
"Gravity" is so much more than hyper-drive spaceships, photon torpedoes and Death Stars. It examines the depths of what it means to human and just where our place in the universe may, or may not, be. In spite of its plot-driven structure, it deserves a place right up there with some of the best, and smartest, outer space films, films like "2001: A Space Odyssey," and "Moon" Films like these are not science fiction—they are human truth, plumbing the human soul rather merely telling a fantastical story. Perhaps it is something about being so far removed from the home where we evolved that causes us to wax existential. The distinction is that whereas those two ask the basic existential question "who are we," on behalf of all humanity; "Gravity" is about one person asking herself the question, "who am I, and do I want to persist in this human life in a world so far beyond human scale?"--and answers it. But perhaps that distinction between the films is not valid—-maybe they are the same question.