Gravity is quite a big film, directed by Alfonso Cuaron (who did the best of the Harry Potter films) and starring big stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. It is also quite an intimate film. An intimate film with mass attraction - that is what Gravity is.
Normally, I would not tell people what happens too deep into a film as I feel a lot of the potential enjoyment is lost when given that information ("no spoilers" in the modern parlance). In the case of Gravity, the context is enough for the man on the Clapham omnibus[1] to work out the film's arc. I'm not going to pretend that you don't know what will happen.
Gravity starts out in space with three astronauts talking and working. The floating camera gives the scale needed as down becomes up and left becomes right, which sets up the scene perfectly. It is definitely a cinematic type of film and worth watching at a decent cinema[2].
The opening scene is quite long and feels unbroken (I think it is one take) which is pretty strange but I am not sure that I'd have noticed it had I not watched River the night before (I probably would have, but it may not have been quite so obvious). And that is the strange feel of the film - and a feel I liked - it is very much like a low budget film. It is true that in space, noone can hear you scream[3] - unless you have a radio. That means that all the dialogue, and all the sound basically, is channelled through the radio and that means that it is heard a bit differently to how you'd expect - it sounds compressed, crackly and without much soundstage. That then has the effect, for me, of separating the audio from the video and the visuals are already quite distinct from each other. It is a pretty strange sensation as it has basically been deconstructed with each element - story, visuals and audio - sitting separately. This is exacerbated by the fact that the characters are obviously behind full face helmets so you cannot see them, you cannot hear them and they do not move much. In this way, it reminded me a little of some scenes in Ghost in the Shell where dialogue continues without mouth movement as it is all done through communication chips. The dialogue is sparse, the score is almost non-existent and the visuals are as static as the radio.
The deconstructed atmosphere continues throughout as the story progresses (with some phenomenal visuals). Due to an explosion of a Russian[4] spacecraft, debris has been scattered which is massively destructive in space - the three astronauts must escape. It is a pretty basic premise with the escape played out as an adventure that sees the protagonist(s) get to an escape pod of a Chinese spacecraft via a circuitous route. There is a decent amount of tension in the escape and film is not padded out so the simple story is actually enough. In many ways, with the visuals and pace of it, it does act as an experience style film - especially in 3D. The story could easily be done as a play with changing backdrops but few visible characters which is actually quite refreshing.
Because of the nature of the film - following the survivors - it is a little bit of a character study with the main character's fears, dreams and emotions being looked at closely. In this way, it is a blockbuster arthouse film, which you will probably like and almost certainly appreciate.
2. I watched Gravity in the Barbican cinema which is a very nice cinema - arguably my favourite screen as it feels so ideally proportioned. I tried, and failed, my ticket booking and thought I would be unable to go but, in the evening, an hour or so before the showing, they called me and asked if I would want to go. They said it had locked up the seat but I guess other cinemas would have just released the seats. I think that is excellent service (and worthy of a footnote) and I also get to feel like I have been invited to the cinema.↩
3. This is the tagline for Alien - a great film and the best of all Alien films. Better than Alien 3, which I have some history with.↩
4. I think some have commented on the film being a little jingoistic and sexist with the portrayal of Sandra Bullock as a rookie waiting to be saved. I felt the Russians being to blame, and the bit in the Chinese spacecraft were a little off, but not massively and were not necessarily negative portrayals. The fact that Bullock's character was a bit rubbish at times was covered by the fact it was one of her first trips - I don't think it is fair to call the film sexist.↩
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