I first saw the multi award
winning Gravity in November last year
during my non writing phase but it’s a film that I felt I needed to see again. Gravity is a game changer as far as
visual effects are concerned and it appears to have re-written the rule book
for films set in space. So over two months and $675 million at the box office after
its initial release, I was able to take in the film’s awesome effects once more
in stunning 3D. I’ll be honest, I never expected to use the words ‘stunning’
and ‘3D’ in the same sentence but Gravity
is the first film I’ve seen for which 3D was the right choice and actually
added something to the movie.
Rather than working on a two
dimensional plane as most films do, Gravity
has a full 360 degree scope to work within. The camera is able to, and expected
to move around the entire scene, not limited by space or ironically gravity.
The use of 3D is completely justified and adds immeasurably to the feeling of
floating as well as helps to place the film in its environment. The opening
scene of an astronaut moving around a shuttle with wanton ease is spectacular
and things only get better from there. Thousands if not millions of tiny pieces
of satellite erupt in a magnificent burst high above the earth and set off
complex chain reactions which are visually stunning as well as incredibly
frightening.
If Gravity is let down by anything then it’s the script. Following a
basic b-movie disaster/survival plot, the dialogue is clunky at best. There’s
also an awful lot of exposition and explanation from the mouths of the actors
which can become frustrating at times. You also have to take several large
leaps of imagination to allow for some of the plot developments but the central
conceit is remarkably strong and simple. Following a planned missile strike on
a satellite to bring it out of orbit, the debris collects other satellites,
creating a field of debris which impacts with a small team of astronauts
working on the Hubble Space Telescope. With communication lost to both Earth and
the International Space Station, Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and
Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) find themselves dethatched from their crippled
Shuttle and floating alone in space. Their only hope is to somehow make it back
to a working station and find a way home.
The first time I saw Gravity I found it excruciatingly tense.
Even though this is a major release so you’d expect the heroes to survive, you
were never sure and the odds were so against them that I was on the edge of my
seat throughout. On second viewing these feelings were diminished somewhat but
that meant I was able to enjoy the magnificent visuals all the more. I honestly
think that this film features the greatest visual effects I’ve ever seen. Framestore
have moved the goal posts for special effects and this will be the benchmark
from which all future films are judged. Several times I found myself asking
silently “How the hell did they do
that?” and sadly the answer is fairly straight forward. With immense skill,
preparation and hard work as well as some fairly traditional techniques, the
crew created rigs and wires which were digitally removed in post production.
However the magic was done though, the results are astounding.In addition to being technologically mind blowing, the effects and whole look of the film is incredibly beautiful. Vistas of the Earth spinning below, day turning to night and back to day are spectacular and the blackness of space pops with chilly darkness.
There are an awful lot of visual
metaphors in the film which create deeper meaning than a simple lost in space
movie. In one vital scene, one of the astronauts makes it safely to an orbiting
space station, narrowly escaping death. Once inside they adopt a foetus like
pose which creates the sense that they are back within the safety of the womb,
out of the dangers posed by the harsh, unforgiving outside. Other symbolism
includes a brief shot that appears to feature the entire evolution of mankind.
Saying anything else would get close to spoiler territory but the symbolism is
there and isn’t even particularly subtle.
Something which I was deeply
impressed with, aside from the visuals, was the score. As we know sound cannot
travel in the vacuum of space so there are no loud explosions or crashes to be
heard. If anything this makes scenes all the more powerful as you witness giant
satellites crashing together in perfect silence. The result is eerily
beautiful. The only ‘sounds’ per se are those that the astronauts would hear
from inside their suits, the dull sound of tools or alarms telling them of
depleting oxygen, impeding doom etc. Because the film is so ‘silent’, the score
has a very important role and it delivers. At times it takes on the sound of a
horror score with loud screeching following by long silences. Unusually for a
motion picture score, there is no percussion which leads to the un-earthly
sounds and high pitched nature. The score works hand in hand with the visuals
perfectly and is one of the, if not the strongest of 2013.
Acting wise, there is a very
small cast. Besides the two leads, there’s a disembodied voice from Houston played expertly
by Ed Harris. Other voices are heard briefly but this is really a two hander.
Clooney is at his most Clooney like, charming and suave, confident and calm. He’s
really great. Sandra Bullock is the film’s lead and is very good, changing from
confident if uneasy doctor to dangerously frightened amateur and then yo-yoing
everywhere in-between. Her face and actions tell of the unimaginable peril she
finds herself in and she conveys the hopelessness of her situation wonderfully.
She’s been receiving plaudits left, right and centre for her role and while she
is excellent, I’m not totally on board with an Oscar win.
Gravity has been nominated for ten Oscars and Eleven BAFTAs and
deserves every one of its nominations. It’s among the best films of the year
and like Jurassic Park twenty years
ago and The Lord of the Rings a decade later, has pushed the technology of film
making into a new phase. The film is a masterpiece which is beautifully
conceived and directed by the multi talented Alfonso Cuaŕon. It’s ninety
minutes of pure cinematic pleasure.
9/10
Alien 1979
Wall-E 2008
I like the way that your blog suggests I may also like Wall-E! I mean I do, I love Wall-E.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about Gravity. I've only seen it the once and I really was on the edge of my seat throughout, really not being sure whether Bullock would make it or not. I'm not sure that I agree about the 3D though, no doubt it was spectacular but I'm not sure how essential it is. I also saw it in 3D, but I would like to see it on the big screen in 2D to see if anything is lost. I totally agree about the score too, perfectly pitched, knew when to be silent and when to be screaming at you.
Great review. You seem to be suddenly more active again, have you rediscovered the joy of writing?
Yeah I've got the bug again. Perhaps it's the time of year and better quality films around? I'm not writing about everything I see but I'm enjoying it again.
DeleteI went for Wall-E partly because of the fire extinguisher scenes. Very similar. I'm going to get the 2D Blu-Ray to see how it is in two'd but I honestly enjoyed the 3D for the first time.
Ahh yes. I'd forgotten about the fire extinguisher bit!
ReplyDeleteI'm the sort of person who avoids 3D films whenever possible. I saw Gravity in 3D IMAX and it is one of the best experiences I've had at a movie in the past decade. I know there are science issues with the film and the science grognards have complained about it. Don't care. It's a fascinating film and it is singularly gorgeous to see. It's a film that I will happily point to as one that needs to be seen on the largest screen available.
ReplyDeleteThe strangest complaint I've heard about Gravity is that there's inherent sexism in making the male Clooney the calm commander in the crisis and the female Bullock the panicked character. I call bull on that. Clooney's character is experienced and has the background to stay calm in an emergency. Bullock's character is new to space. She reacts far more calmly than I would have in that situation.
I found it refreshing to see a film in which the two main characters could swap genders and almost the exact same movie could have been made. You could even keep Bullock's character name the same. We need more movies like this one, where gender is merely a part of a character rather than defining for the character.