FORCE OF GRAVITY

Some times a movie get’s hyped to the extent that suspicion can creep in. Gravity has been almost universally proclaimed as the film of the year: many a trusted reviewer has championed the movie and been rhapsodic about its place in cinematic history.

So it was with a degree of trepidation that I took myself along to the cinema ticket in hand.

Gravity could have been like a Kubrick movie: technical prowess with cold detachment, or a Spielberg movie: full of awe and emotional manipulation, or indeed like a Michael Bay production: all bombast no heart. In fact Gravity has more in common with Gone With The Wind or Casablanca. It’s pure cinema with spectacle, jeopardy, philosophical leanings but also a real beating heart. It is an extraordinary movie and one that, given the reflective qualities of time passing, will be viewed as classic cinema.
The two leads are both excellent: Clooney plays the veteran Astronaut perfectly but it is Sandra Bullock who is the surprise. Often associated with light and airy roles Bullock is a revelation and must be an Oscar shoe-in. Of course the technical qualities of the movie have garnered praise and rightly so but it is not just technique it is how the effects are integral and interwoven into the story.
Gravity is the sort of movie that reenergises the viewer and the sort of movie that comes along once in a while that makes you feel that "I was there" feeling: it's that good.