Entering into the months of the ‘awards season’, new
releases hoping for nominations typically take a light-hearted route to the
academy’s heart through a simple yet well told narrative. Alfonso Cuaron’s new
release, Gravity, however couldn’t be further from the story presenting a film
of aesthetic beauty but also narrative minimalism. Despite this, having already
been praised worldwide by audience and critics alike, Gravity shows to live up
to its hype being surprisingly deep in its narrative and breathtakingly
astonishing in its visuals.
After an accident on
a satellite sends debris hurtling through space a medical engineer ( Sandra
Bullock) and astronaut (George Clooney) must work together to survive after
being left adrift. Gravity is very much a film driven by its characters as
appose to its plot, with the story being all but told in the opening 5 minutes.
For this to happen the characters involved must be sufficiently ‘meaty’ in
order to create a connection to the audience, and whilst this connection does
form it comes with little help from the characters themselves. Instead the
films impeccable visuals engross the audience into the film so much that the
characters become instantly believable in a setting which is plastered with
detail, looking like a duplicate of space itself. Perhaps shadowing over the
impressive visuals is the pitch-perfect score, used terrifically throughout to
amplify every emotion, as well as being used sparingly to allow times of
silence to make the empty scenes of space even more uncomfortable.
This is a good job as whilst both protagonists are as
interesting as each other, they both carry their unique burdens. George Clooney
puts in a terrific performance, as to be expected from a veteran actor of his
calibre however the screenplay does little to ground his character, being
handed unrealistic comical jokes to perform in scenes of panic and fear which
simply feel out of place, reminding us of the charming ‘Clooney’ and preventing
us from getting more involved within the film. As for Bullock, her character is
sufficiently explained and enough depth goes into her struggle to survive
however she is at times let down by her own seemingly unenthusiastic
performance, failing to reflect necessary emotions for certain scenes which
downplayed moments of sadness as well as rejoice.
That said these
issues only occur periodically throughout and are certainly minor issues within
the artistic triumph of Gravity which tells a story of such perceived
minimalism in a way in which makes the audience analyse every step of the
narrative. Gravity presents its themes in a touching and subtle manner,
allowing its audience to piece the messages together before there’re made more
obvious and even invites debate into what these messages even are. Overall
Gravity seems to be a film which contradicts typical Hollywood fodder, knowing
exactly when to stop; being unnervingly realistic and subtle, detaching itself
from its wonder to be a humble cinematic achievement.
8.5/10- An excellently told short story of great depth and
power.
Calum Russell
