Gravity (2013)

I wouldn't recommend reading this if you haven’t already seen the film.
The entire plot is unfolded here.





The trailer looks amazing, Sandra Bullock (Dr Stone), spinning out of control in space, that was until the video began trying to buffer as the wifi I was using sputtered away. Still, I had seen enough to know I wanted to see the film. I was offered the chance to view it in an Imax, which I went straight for. After those few, vital teaser seconds seen from the trailer I was preparing myself for a ride similar to that of The Back To The Future: The Ride in Disney Land, albeit minus Biff. Apart from the potential motion sickness I hadn’t really thought at all about what the film entailed, or even the basic plot line. I am in two minds now whether that was a good thing. One side of the argument being: I prefer to embark on a story I know nothing about, so everything is new and I’m not waiting on a particular scene or character arc to emerge. On the negative side, to explain I’ll need an example: Napoleon Dynamite. I highly recommended Napoleon Dynamite to my brother. He sat down to watch it one day, then half way through stopped the film and phoned me:

Brother - “This is boring, nothing’s happening”

I - “That’s the point, nothing happens.”

Then he switched the film on again and thou roughly enjoyed it from that point.
The purpose of the film is not to expect anything from it, in essence, nothing happens. Then with that in mind, Napoleon Dynamite is a brilliant film made up of quiet stories merged together through various interactions.

So, with Gravity, somewhat like Napoleon Dynamite, to my mind, nothing much happens.

There is the very basic storyline: they are in space, their aircraft is damaged, the team dwindles to one and she must make it back to earth.

There is her character background: the mother who has lost her child, all she has at home is work, her evenings filled with driving to music, not wanting to hear the voices and opinions of others.

So we can see how her struggle to earth is also on a mental level rather than just physical/lack of oxygen/old malfunctioning space stations/flying space debris.

Call me simple minded but I was thinking there may be more to this film, more character interaction, perhaps at least a third of the film set on earth. I am not for a moment suggesting it needed this, it is just if I had known this I’d have been more patient with what I was watching. Also, I can find edge-of-the-seat viewing highly uncomfortable, and this film was fantastic at those nerve filled moments of near misses, hits and grasping for something to hold on to. If you like suspense you will very much enjoy this film. Thinking back now, I am glad it was this 'simple' because it was incredibly effective. It felt real, the realest thriller I have ever seen in space to date, and because of that it was gripping.

But then Hollywood played the patronising 'cinema-goers-need-dialogue' card. During the final part of the film Stone breaks from her usually silent nature to give us, the cinema goers' a whole monologue on how she is determined to get home, in the guise of her talking to Kowalski (Clooney) as if he was still with her.  We don’t need her to tell us she wants to go home. We don’t need her to say out loud to her deceased space comrade that he should look after her daughter in heaven. She doesn’t need to talk endlessly like him to demonstrate that she is now confident in herself. In fact the very opposite, if she had stayed resolute and silent it would have shown strength in her character, she is fighting for her life, she doesn’t need to change into someone else to do so.

I suppose this may hark back to her conversation with Clooney earlier, that she doesn’t ever want to hear talking, just music as she drives; now she’s talking incessantly. However there was no need for the talking there. She had no music; she had no distractions from her situation.

It may sound, by this point, that I didn't like the film, that is wrong, sorry to have come across so negatively, so early on, I found this extremely entertaining. I was awed by the anti gravity effects, Sandra herself travelling around within the space stations, it just blew you away how they captured zero gravity so well. Of course I don't know exactly what it is like, but, this is how I'd imagine it. Sandra is good too, really good, she holds the film by herself effortlessly and you don't find yourself getting frustrated with her. Pitfall after pitfall face her, but she has determination, she keeps you watching because you want her to survive and you trust she will fight to her last. Then Clooney is just effortlessly charming as always.

As I said before, had I known this film was entirely focused on the attempts to journey home I would have sat more patiently, such as when I watched Superbad and had preconceived notions the film’s story would cover the period of at least two weeks, rather than almost entirely focussing on one day/night. Although whether the impatience was a combination of stress from those brilliantly done moments of thrilling situations I am not sure.  Then, like many films with space and what not, they couldn't help themselves. Something about being in space, out there makes people want to question our very survival and cycle of life; queue shot of Stone in fetal position with the light shining behind her before she rebirths ready to travel home. Overall I did really enjoy this film, I would recommend it too. Bullock and Clooney are both fantastic, and the film, for me anyway, looked at space in a way I have never seen before and which I thoroughly enjoyed.  On a second last note: they obviously took inspiration from WALL·E.

“I liked it so much I forgot we went to watch it.” Hayden Hook.


Image Credits:
http://thespoilist.com
http://www.contactmusic.com