Film & TV

Film Review: Gravity

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Published: 18 October 2013 18 October 2013

Gravity is a Sci-Fi thriller, co-written, co-produced, co-edited and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The film depicts the fictional fallout of a space mission gone bad, as the surviving astronauts from a damaged Space Shuttle try to hang on for dear life and make it back home.

Gravity's cinematography and special effects are quite stunning, with the striking backdrop of Earth playing as an important role as any of the cast. Yet, ultimately Gravity is the story of Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock,) a Mission Specialist for whom the ordeal serves as a second chance at a life she already gave up on long before she left Earth. The trials of her survival serve as a sort or rebirth, filled yet not overladen with symbolism, including the womb of the Space Station and the emergence from water to land.

Bullock and Clooney have good chemistry together, with Bullock in the main role demonstrating yet again her capabilities in delivering a dramatic performance. Cuarón directs his brainchild film with a steady hand, making mostly good choices while playing tribute to some of the more notable past space dramas. Occasionally there is a slip-up in pacing, a little heavier than needed hand on melodrama, and a sense of a missing bigger picture in this dance of space debris, high and low tech equipment, as well as floating objects including tears, fire and everyday knickknacks. Yet all in all Gravity is one of the more impressive films of 2013.

Ronen Divon is an entrepreneur, writer, owner of Monroe Yoga and Tai Chi, filmmaker and the film critic at www.ronenrecommends.com. His film reviews are short and entertaining. To read more reviews by Ronen, click here