‘Gravity’ a visually arresting, tastefully executed thriller

“Gravity“

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Grade: B+

“Life in space is impossible.”

The opening text from Alfonso Cuaron’s “Gravity” reads like an understatement of the highest degree after enduring the harrowing tale of survival that follows. But filming this spellbinding visual spectacle may have been just as impossible.

“Gravity” opens with an astonishing 13-minute-long shot of Earth, with a tiny speck of spacecraft slowly emerging into the foreground. Astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) wisecracks with first-time space explorer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) while she’s fixing a problem outside of their space shuttle. It’s just another day at the office, until predictably, disaster strikes: Debris from a destroyed satellite rips toward them, obliterating the ship.  

After their tether breaks, Stone is swallowed into space, floating aimlessly around with a dwindling oxygen supply. Reliant only on Kowalsky’s voice over the radio, Stone’s hopes of returning home diminish by the second.

Anybody who shudders at the thought of watching Bullock float in space for 90 minutes can rest easy: There’s a whole lot more to “Gravity” than the trailers suggest. As far as survival films go, it bears more of a resemblance to the visceral horror of “Alien” than the contemplative isolation of “127 Hours.” Viewers are spared a full-length film that is a collection of Sandra Bullock retrospectives (though that might make an effective horror film in itself), and instead the film becomes a race against time where hope seems all but lost and panic increases as oxygen levels drop. Above all else, director Alfonso Cuaron seems to be concerned with crafting an unconventional modern visual feast.

With many of the film’s best shots ripped straight from the pages of Stanley Kubrick, it’s no secret which science-fiction classic Cuaron strives to emulate and update for the 21st century. If “2001: A Space Odyssey” represents the groundbreaking beginnings of effects-driven cinema, then “Gravity” represents its future. Each breathtaking image seamlessly blends CGI and live-action to the point where discerning one from the other is impossible. 

It’s astonishing how far CGI effects have come since their early days, but it’s still an effect that can be nauseatingly overused to the point where CGI is sometimes a stand-in for actual plot. However, Cuaron manages to utilize high-quality effects in a way that tastefully enhances the plot. Even if a majority of the film is computer-generated, it looks and feels so bracingly realistic that it never distracts.      

Following an exhausting and noisy summer of superheroes, robots and reboots, “Gravity” feels refreshingly quaint. Comparing his film to friend Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim,” Cuaron stated that “Gravity” felt “like a tiny Sundance film.” Its reported $80 million budget seems stunningly modest for a film that looks this good. However, even if it gives the conventional blockbuster a necessary shot in the arm, it’s still bogged down by some narrative missteps.

One of the film’s strongest elements and liabilities is the breakneck pacing and compounding of tension. Cuaron masterfully bombards Stone with one bloodcurdling challenge after the next. But when he slows down the proceedings to tell Stone’s back story, it rarely amounts to any more than convenient hokum. Survival stories rightly demand characters with some emotional heft, yet also those with a bit more psychological nuance.

In spite of this slight character mistreatment, Bullock still turns in one of the stronger performances of her career. Her part is devoid of many of the antics that have earned her so many detractors throughout her career. If “Gravity” can be viewed as a terrifying horror film under the guise of a sci-fi thriller, then Bullock provides far more depth and expression to the victim trope.

For providing thrills and spectacle, “Gravity” is a truly groundbreaking cinematic experience. It should be viewed on the largest screen available, and (for once) 3D does not hamper the immersion. Ignore the dramatic shortcomings and feast your eyes.