On the latest episode of Reel Shorts, a medical engineer and an astronaut work together to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space in the jaw-dropping, deep-space thriller, Gravity.
Audio Review
After months of spartan trailers exposing very little of the story, three-time Oscar nominee Alfonso Cuarón’s latest is a visual masterpiece. This white-knuckle thriller focuses on a crew of astronauts performing routine maintenance on the space shuttle Explorer.
The contrasts couldn’t be greater as Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first mission while fellow astronaut Mike Kowalski (George Clooney) in enjoying his last spacewalk in search of the spacewalking record when catastrophe strikes.
Soon, Stone is hurtling, literally, lost in space and both she and Kowalski must not only survive but try to find their way home, back to Earth. Told in real-time, Cuarón’s direction and cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki’s (To the Wonder, Tree of Life and Children of Men) fresh take on space are both awe-inspiring and absolutely luminous.
There were plenty of moments while watching the film where I wondered how Cuarón’s team was able to accomplish this stunning technological feat and the fact that such an achievement would not have been possible even three short years ago. His script, co-written with his son, Jonás Cuarón, does an amazing job of keeping audiences firmly entrenched, not just in the eye-popping visuals, but also in the life and death stakes that Stone and Kowalski experience.
Cuarón’s script, while sparse on dialogue, ultimately depends on a strong performance from his lead actress and boy, does Bullock deliver! In addition to her heavy spacesuit, Stone also is carrying the emotional baggage dealing with the painful death of her daughter but digs deep to find the will to live. It also doesn’t hurt that she is perhaps in the best physical condition of her life in a fantastic, but brief reveal that was reminiscent of a young Jane Fonda in the cult space classic, Barbarella.
After directing films such as Y Tu Mamá También, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Children of Men, Cuarón has smartly used the technology to create a signature work that feels like the cinematic version of an amusement ride – one that you’ll want to ride over and over.
Over the course of cinematic history, there have been a plethora of films that have given audiences visions of life in space including notable films such as the silent film classic, Metropolis through more modern stories such as Star Wars, Star Trek and more recently special-effect marvels such as Avatar. Gravity will take its rightfully place in the canon of game-changing space adventures.
Gravity is the closest experience one can have without going into space themselves. While the mantra has always been “space is the place,” Cuarón’s story shows that despite the mystique and wonder of space exploration, it also has its share of very real dangers. Gravity may be a small step for audiences but it is a HUGE step for space and cinema!!!
Grade: A+
Check out the review from WETA-TV’s Around Town, below:
even amidst all of the positive comments and raves i’ve heard and read about this film, i still wasn’t going to see it, but your “A+” (a plus? wow!) has changed my mind about not seeing it.
Yeah, I really thought it was an amazing cinematic experience, which I would HIGHLY recommend!!!