Nowadays, it seems like more and more filmmakers are relying on visual spectacle to carry lackluster storytelling to the finish line. Take Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby (or any of Luhrmann’s films, really), a paramount example of a film that stresses style over substance. Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity is a film that certainly had the potential to follow this trend, but, although it is not a complete success, it cannot be dismissed as just a visual showpiece. By now, you probably know the basic plot of Gravity. Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a mission specialist for NASA on her first mission to outer space. Alongside veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and a crew of professionals, Dr. Stone is working on the Hubble Telescope when disaster strikes. Debris from a destroyed Russian satellite collides with the telescope and detaches Kowalski and Stone, leaving them stranded in space with no way to contact Houston and no way to get back to Earth.
The visuals in Gravity have been hailed as revolutionary, and they are certainly a sight to behold. As a longtime detractor of 3D, I was uncertain about seeing this movie in 3D, but for once it works because, unlike every other 3D movie I’ve seen, it accomplishes the main goal of the technology: immersing you in the action. Cuaron does so by employing big, sweeping tracking shots and long, unbroken takes. Indeed, in the first 20-25 minutes of Gravity, there are only two takes. These techniques work extremely well because they give you the sense of being right in the midst of the action. There are still times when things look fuzzy, but ultimately this movie is worth seeing in 3D because the unique visual flourishes effectively place the audience alongside the characters.
From a storytelling standpoint, Gravity works well for quite a while. For the first hour, the movie never stops moving, throwing greater and greater obstacles in the way of the protagonists until you start to wonder how things can possibly get worse. But in the last 30 minutes, the movie goes slightly awry, turning to the sort of cloying sentimentality that peppers so many of Sandra Bullock’s films, notably The Blind Side, of which I was not a fan. Bullock has a couple of big, dumb speeches during the climax that belong nowhere in this otherwise smart, expertly crafted film. And Steven Price’s over the top, John Williams-esque score doesn’t suit the movie’s claustrophobic atmosphere, inspiring nothing but eye rolling.
Does Gravity live up to the hype? No. Is it still worth seeing? Absolutely. It’s been a long time since there has been this impressive a visual spectacle to behold. Hopefully, next time Cuaron will spend as much time crafting the story as he did on the cinematography.
Grade: B+
