ENJOY THE SILENCE

In space… there is no sound. You are alone. So, too, is Sandra Bullock for the majority of GRAVITY. To say she holds her own is an understatement almost as vast as the space through which she tumbles in this truly stunning technical masterpiece. OK… I got to do the vast thing. 

I have never been much of a Bullock fan. I’ve viewed her as a perfectly adequate ingenue or reasonably amusing comedienne. Forgettable. I will admit that she has made herself memorable. Her breath and eyes will own you quickly.

I give away nothing to those who have seen the trailers in saying that as first time space traveler Ryan Stone, Bullock is, literally, lost in space. What happens next is the question you are left asking nearly every minute for the duration of the film. Suspense isn’t an adequate word. Anxiety comes close. Gravity is nerve-wracking. 

Technically, Clooney shares billing, but I’ll admit his cheeky performance left me a bit cold. The true co-stars are Alfonso Cuarón, Emmanuel Lubezki, and visual-effects supervisor Tim Webber, who will convince you they themselves took Riley Martin on his ill fated journey. Shifting points of view, weightlessness, and seemingly impossible shots that sweep from earth to space station to pupil require nothing short of a 3D/IMAX experience. 

Ultimately, and obviously, this film is meant to be a story of one– a voyage within, and it does that.  Moving through all appropriate stages due a frantic fight for survival in the greatest of unknowns, Stone lets you in. You get invested and hope for her survival… it’s simple in this way.

Gravity, however, is not a flawless film. My greatest complaint – I would have enjoyed more silence. I cringed more than once at hokey script, and would have turned down the score and let the lack of sound in space speak more often. It is also, at times, impossible to believe.. but suspension of disbelief should come with putting a pair of 3-D glasses on, one would think.

One truth….the filmmaking itself is close to flawless… it’s complex in this way.

See it.