Gravity (2013)

Filmmakers are often quick to remind us of our insignificance in the universe, and that is never more apparent than when human beings are literally thrust into the middle of the universe itself. This is the central idea of Alfonso Cuarón’s terrific Gravity, a meticulously crafted thrill ride of a movie about one person’s fight for life in the brutal, uncaring vacuum of space. This is an unrelentingly exciting theatrical experience that works both because of its visual mastery and because of its simplicity. The latter may be an odd thing to say about an $80 million special effects extravaganza, but through all the chaos Cuarón keeps the focus almost exclusively on his protagonist. There are no extraneous characters or plot points; Gravity is a ruthlessly efficient 90-minute journey from point A to point B, but there is more wonder and excitement in these 90 minutes than most of this summer’s blockbusters combined. There may not be much past the surface, but that surface is unique in almost every way.

Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, an engineer from Illinois who is working her first mission alongside Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). It doesn’t take long for trouble to strike, and one day while out working, debris from a destroyed satellite hits their shuttle head on. The damage is catastrophic, and a drifting Ryan is left floating in space with limited oxygen. From there, the film follows her numerous attempts to get back to Earth, something that has been made almost impossible by the storm of debris, which returns a few more times to complicate things further.

As impressive as Gravity is as a visual showcase, it will probably seem a lot less novel the second it leaves theaters and winds up on television screens or computer screens. This is a movie with an expiration date; without the immersion of the big screen or IMAX experience the chinks in the armor will likely become more visible. On a story level, this is a very conventional movie, with beats that you have probably seen in millions of disaster and survival films before. At the same time, while it is happening, you probably will not care in the slightest. Cuarón’s Gravity begins with a hypnotic shot that seems to last forever, and it only grows more dazzling from there. While the plot points themselves aren’t entirely unfamiliar, they work because Cuarón isn’t using characters as props in a world of CGI, but instead he is using CGI as a prop in Dr. Stone’s struggle for survival. No matter what happens, it is always about her and what she needs to do next in order to get back to Earth.

There’s a definite “rebirth” motif throughout the film as well—something Cuarón makes incredibly obvious with one lingering shot in particular—but Gravity is at its best when it simply focuses on the task at hand. This is the result of a filmmaker seeing the unrealized potential of CGI and modern technology, and then crafting a final product that does things no movie has ever done before. In that respect it is similar to, say, James Cameron’s Avatar, but it is more successful overall because it doesn’t put together almost three hours of bloat that detract from the technical achievements. Gravity has but one goal in mind, and that is to spend 90 minutes thrilling audiences in ways they may not have expected were possible. It almost certainly won't have the same effect years (or even months) down the line, but in a world where the theatrical experience seems to be losing its magic, a film like Gravity feels especially significant.

Grade: A-