With much hype comes great anticipation and Gravity is one of this years most eagerly awaited movies. Can it live up to the hype? In one word..ABSOLUTELY.
Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity sees a medical engineer (Sandra Bullock) and an astronaut (George Clooney) deal with a catastrophe that sees them as sole survivors after debris strikes their shuttle killing everyone on board. Fortunately for them, they happened to be outside the shuttle on a routine space walk when disaster struck. Unfortunately for Ryan Stone (Bullock) she gets separated from Matt Kowalski (Clooney) and finds things going from bad to worse. And thats only the opening 20 minutes.
From the very get go, Gravity is not your average movie. This is an actual experience. Alfonso Cuarón has not only crafted one of the most tense and exhilarating movies this year, he has used all kinds of witch craft to completely envelope you. This is really a surreal experience, as many scenes were shot with one camera, continuously. Zero edits. The camera just moves, pans, rotates,zooms, spins and pulls you right out of your seat into the screen. Many of these “one take, one camera” scenes go on for 10-15 minutes and, besides being beautiful they are simply hypnotic. You’ve never experienced anything like this before.
Performance wise, there has to be an Oscar nod here for Sandra Bullock. Her portrayal of a persons first trip to space is an amazing one from beginning to end, where she goes from nervous and petrified to courageous and brave. And its a gradual transformation being done cleverly and perfectly. George Clooney, doesn’t break much of a sweat here but is quite likeable and bursting with personality.
Special mention must go to the sound mix and the score from Steven Price. Obviously theres no sound in space, so many scenes are surrounded in nothing but silence, which adds incredibly to the tension. Price’s score when it comes into effect, will blow you right out of your seat.
IMAX 3D is the ultimate way to experience Gravity, and if you don’t have one nearby, its certainly worth finding one and making a day trip out of it. If thats not possible, find the best and biggest cinema screen you can. This movie demands it. Gravity is the most beautiful film you will see this year. Its an incredibly tense affair with epic set pieces and offers an absolutely incredibly immersive experience that you will never have had before. Unless you’re absolutely loaded, this is as close to going to space as you’re going to get. Phenomenal. One of the movies of the year.
Incidentally, grab the interview I did with the composer of the amazing score for Gravity, Steven Price on iTunes or download direct by clicking here.
