So, I saw Gravity yesterday. Maybe you've heard of it. It's this little sci-fi film that's getting some interesting buzz around the web lately. At least that's how it was referred to when I first heard about it earlier this year. Now, you've probably heard it described as "The best film of 2013!" or "The greatest science fiction movie since Stanley Kubrick squeezed out 2001: A Space Odyssey!" or "The single greatest technical achievement by man in the history of ever. And always."That last one may have been a stretch, but it's a pretty decent movie I guess. I'm just joking; it's a very decent movie. Best movie of 2013? Eh, maybe. It probably is one of the greatest special effect achievements ever put to film. In terms of cinematography and story telling, it's light years ahead of anything else to date. Definitely a game changer (oh God, how I hate that term) in that sense.
I also love the fact that the story takes such a simple premise (if you can call 'having two astronauts have to use their survival skills and technical expertise to try to return back to Earth after barely escaping certain death due to an onslaught of charging satellite shrapnel that destroyed their ship and left them stranded in space' simple), and focuses the entire movie on it. I really dig minimalistic movies. This storyline brings to mind a couple other favorites of mine that involve similar circumstances, where a character or characters are stranded or confined to one place and they're trying to escape certain death. Open Water (which involved two scuba divers being stranded by their boat and everyone hated it) and Buried (which involved Ryan Reynolds trapped in a coffin for 90 minutes, and no one saw it). Gravity kind of completes the environmental trilogy, proving that deep space is just as bad a place to get stranded as the middle of the ocean, or six feet under ground in a box. Although I don't know if anyone was going to make an argument against that.
The really cool thing about this movie, that sets it apart from the other two is the production value.
While Open Water was filmed with a couple digital cameras on the cheap, and Buried was done very well, but never once left the coffin, Gravity uses every single camera trick and special effect in its repertoire. And it does it seamlessly. This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing looking films I've ever seen in my life. I've read that the director (who also did the amazing "Children of Men") spent the last four years working on this project. Even spending a considerable time working on the 3D process, meaning the studio didn't just decide to post convert it later to make a couple extra bucks. Knowing that going in, I opted to see it in 3D, and it was definitely the best 3D experience I had in a theater as well. Much, much better than Avatar (ugh... but you know my thoughts on Avatar).
The reason the 3D works so well in this movie (and if you know the director's work, it's no surprise) is because of the extremely long takes that make up each scene. While most movies cut to about 50 different camera angles to cover one action sequence, Alfonso Cuaron painstakingly films it all in one take without any cuts. The long takes give your eyes and brain a chance to really register what's happening in front of you, and appreciate the robustness that the third dimension adds to the picture.
Now, that's not to say there aren't any cuts. And since this entire thing was filmed on a green screen, I'm sure there's virtually hundreds of cuts in each of these 15 minute long takes. However, the important thing is, we don't notice them. It's all crafted together so beautifully with such a natural flow, it all just appears to be happening in front of you. Seriously, don't misconstrue what I said to mean there are cuts, but we don't notice them; for all intents and purposes, there are no cuts. It's like you're right there, floating in space with them, not missing a beat. Yesterday I said there was a short film in VHS2 that put the viewer in the eyes of the protagonist while he's haunted by ghosts. Well, Gravity puts you in the space suit of the astronauts, and you are directly in the middle of the action. Or lack of action, as you drift silently through space. It's a pretty miraculous achievement.
What makes this all the more note worthy, is that the storyline itself doesn't really need to be so technologically amazing. It could've just as easily been shot like a normal movie. It could've even been shot for super cheap, and just edited together like a hundred other space movies we've seen. The story of two characters on a quest to get home is nothing new. But the way they present it, in a way we've never seen; experiencing their struggles first hand, that is what makes this movie amazing. The viewer is watching anxiously as the characters bounce off the shuttle, trying desperately to grab hold of something in order to stop their descent into space. You hold your breath and grip your armrest as they miss ledge after ledge, drifting into total blackness. This movie forces you to connect with them, and experience their panic first hand. A rare feat these days. And again, even rarer because it really didn't have to. It's like someone came up with the movie idea, and pitched it to some executives. The executives yawn and say, "Okay, go ahead; are you going to do anything different, that we haven't seen before?" and the production crew says, "Yeah, we're going to make it really, really good." That's two reallys. And they meant it.
So, premise of the movie: good. Technical wizardry on screen: amazing. Acting: Eh... two out of three aint bad, right? Wait, what? Dave, you didn't like the acting? It's got George Clooney, everyone loves Clooney! Yeah, I know. Clooney was the man. Clooney rocked this movie. Well, that only leaves one other person... are you telling me you didn't like Bullock? Come on; she's an Oscar winner too! Yeah, for the Blindside. Listen. Clooney was great. Sandra wasn't bad. She just wasn't all that good. Her character wasn't very relatable, or likeable, or even someone that I cared a great deal for. I never really found myself connecting with her, or really hoping she made it out other than just because she was the main character. She gave a couple good moments, one especially good one when she is saying a quick prayer to her daughter who died years before (which now that I'm a parent, came off much more heart wrenching than I would've thought before), but overall, I just found her kind of flat. Not someone I was actively rooting for. Of course, I wasn't hoping she'd die out in space either; I just found her kind of "meh." If I were to compare her to Sam Rockwell's character in "Moon," another terrific space movie from a couple years ago, I'd say they're not even in the same league. Sam was warm, sympathetic, and you spent the whole movie feeling for him, and rooting that he'd make it out. There were also a couple moments where I thought the writing was almost embarrassingly contrived. The stand out is when she makes her way to a Chinese space shuttle and picks up a radio conversation between some random Chinese guy back on Earth. This was one of the few weak parts for me; but not enough to do any real damage to the film, just kind of a low point.
Overall, with all minor criticisms aside, Gravity is one hell of a movie. An absolutely amazing technical achievement that will undoubtedly be talked about in film circles for decades to come. Plus, the storyline of overcoming adversity, and not giving up, no matter how dire things look is always a crowd pleaser too. The movie has some twists, which I won't even hint at because the marketing people actually avoided giving anything away in the previews. Seriously, everything I saw in the trailers took place in the first 15 minutes. I had no idea what was going to happen after that, so I went into this pretty damn eager. That doesn't happen a whole lot in this day and age. Most movie trailers show you every single action beat, along with the jokes, money shots, and punchlines of just about every beat of the movie. Horror movies like Quarantine even show the last scene in the movie in every advertising campaign they run. Hell, it was even the cover of the movie for Christ sakes! Studios will release exclusive sneak peaks online, months before the film hits theaters, showing unbroken, 3 minute long scenes from the movie. The Evil Dead red-banned trailer showed every single kill and action sequence in the movie, so when I finally got around to seeing it, opening night, it felt like I was just watching a longer version of something I already saw. No mystery. No anticipation. No enjoyment.
And shit, what do I know, maybe Gravity does have some longer trailers they've released that show a whole lot more of the movie; I don't know. I haven't been seeking them out because I wanted to go into it fresh. And it paid off. I suggest everyone else does the same. Don't read anymore about it. Quit listening to everyone say it's the best movie they've ever seen. Just go into it and make up your own decision. But at least keep in mind how astronomically amazing the effects are. You may think you've seen something like this before, but trust me; you haven't.
PS- I know this isn't technically a "horror" horror movie. But shit, it had my pulse pounding faster than anything I've seen in the horror genre lately. And really, who's to say what qualifies as horror? I would say being alone, endlessly adrift in space is far more terrifying than running from a slasher in a hockey mask. But maybe that's just because they never seem to put any pep in their step when they chase their victims. If he at least put forth the effort to speed walk, maybe I'd get some chills.
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