It is an extremely hard task for any director to depict the unexpected. It is also difficult to successfully describe a scenario to an audience that would probably never come across such an experience in their lives. This is the lesson that director Alfonso Cuaron learned while working on his newest blockbuster hit, “Gravity.”
It is about a medical engineer named Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, who is sent to space with the help of a team to install her newest mechanical prototype on a satellite right outside of Earth’s atmosphere.
The movie really kicks off when a Russian missile hits a different satellite and the debris from the crash turns into the team’s worst nightmare. Pieces of metal flying at high speeds thrash through their project and kill almost everyone on the team. Stone and Matt Kowolski, played by George Clooney, are the only ones left.
The chaos of the debris causes Stone to separate from her tether and she ends up floating on her own in deep space with no way of getting back and with no way of contacting anyone.
Bullock and Clooney are a great pair in this harrowing adventure, but ultimately it is Bullock who entrances the audience in her heart-wrenching performance. However, Clooney’s character is extremely entertaining and memorable for audience members.
It is impressive that Cuaron is able to succeed in this film when it is mainly set in space or in small capsules with only seven members in the cast.
It is also interesting that he is able to illustrate such a scary scenario while adding moments that help to further entertain the audience, rather than have the actors floating uncontrollably throughout space with a meteor here and there. These moments include Bullock narrowly escaping flying shards of satellite debris and her first “escape” after catching on fire from exposed wires.
The setting and special effects that brought these moments to life are mesmerizing, especially in 3D or IMAX 3D.
The most engaging moment of this film is at the very beginning. As the first credits fade, the screen brightens and a slowly rotating Earth comes into view.
It is silent, yet there is almost a buzzing feel to this quietness. It is the epitome of space and the feel of its vast nothingness comes into full being as this silence engulfs the scene.
The beginning sets of “Gravity” the stage for how truly spine-chilling it is.
It is for these unique experiences that people go to the movies. They go to learn and to be entertained by something other than reality. “Gravity” gives a whole new meaning to entertainment and to what audiences can experience.
