Cinema Reviews

Gravity Review

• 13th Nov 2013

Alfonso Cuaron delivers a much needed sense of “levity” in for film this year with Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Astronauts working in orbit come a bit unstuck (and adrift) when a shower of debris destroys their equipment and ride home, leaving the two to find their bearings (after finding each other) and setting their sights on a way home.

Simply put this is Bullock’s film when it comes to the performances.  Clooney is at his easy going gentle and warm hearted best, but it is a showcase for Bullock’s emotions that drive the emotional core of the film. But to be fair the film is stolen from even her by the film’s visionary director Alfonso Cuaron who has crafted some truly terrific cinema.

Is it perfect? No, and we wouldn’t want to overstate the films achievements. Sure there are cheats in the logic, the effects work on the actors is not completely seamless. The character background is sometimes questionable? If you look hard enough you will find flaws. But it is to be viewed for its magnificence, and it uses as simple a story arc to get there.

Gravity is truly a film lovers piece of work. The simplicity of the scripts not a hindrance to the film, and the reliance on technical aspects of film making are also not a hindrance – instead both work arm in arm. In the same way that the simplified detective story of Blade Runner worked so well with the technical aspects of that film – because one told the other in the most visually stunning and technically impressive way possible. Gravity does so with its own tricks without ever feeling hollow or over-stylised.

Nomination Predictions: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Editing. Oscar glory waits.

Steven Hurst