Seeing Alfonso Cuaron direct this was the biggest hook for me. Despite disappointing me with Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azkaban, I could see his potential in terms of his vision rather than his story-telling.
Then his first real blockbuster for me was Children Of Men. That is where I saw what Cuaron and his team could do with films. Such amazing camera-work and a much more engaging story line.
Now to Gravity, and when the first trailer came out, that was enough for me. Most of the trailer contents I thought were o.k., apart from two which scared me so much about being in there position.
After hearing HUGE success in America and possible Oscar domination, I decided to not see anymore trailers. I felt the one trailer was enough, and I did not want to ruin it for myself.
I am so glad I did that, as what I experiencing today was something I have been waiting for this whole year. Each year, I manage to find a film that really makes me take a step back and just have many new thoughts running inside my head. In 2011, I had Hugo, which taught me about the importance of cinema and how we should appreciate the foundations and how ground-breaking they were and could be if they were here today. 2012 had Cloud Atlas. It made me realise about how we as a species live and keep making the same mistakes despite each generation trying to make it easier for the next one.
Gravity managed to engage me in an environment where I know I will never get to, space. From the very start, you are engulfed by the beautiful cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki who will guarantee Gravity's first Oscar. Also Lubezki manages to create some pretty ground-breaking camera angles that really put you in their shoes of the peril Bullock and Clooney's characters are in whilst orbiting the Earth.
As the film goes on, you start to appreciate how dangerous space can be, and I was amazed at all the possible things that could happen and any ordinary person would completely lose it mentally. You gain so much respect for our astronauts and Clooney pulls it off beautifully.
Bullock however gives us a different perspective. She plays a doctor who has recently taken astronaut training as she is needed in their latest mission. She shows the panicky side of what someone would do if you were in space and in danger. What we see from the performance of Bullock as the film went on, could well get her a possible Oscar nomination. As we crossover into the second half of the film, I was losing it and I did not think it would match that impressive start. But a brilliant and clever scene suddenly appears and is the saving grace, and the perfect build-up for what was an emotional finale.
The star of the show is obviously the cinematography, but the visual effects came a close second. With this film solely being shown in 3D at my local cinema, I was seeing my first 3D film since Marvel Avengers Assemble which was in March 2012. I got the novelty, but that was it. Most of the films retro-fit the 3D, it is not done well, it distracts you from the film as a whole and it actually makes the picture 30% darker, which is tough for particularly dark scenes.
But what Cuaron and his team did with it reminded me of how well Martin Scorsese used the 3D with Hugo. It did not distract from the big picture and I highly recommend you watch it in 3D. It gives you the full feel of being in that space environment.
A few final positives that I want to mention. The realisticness of space was mind-blowing. It felt like you were having a science lesson, but with no instructions. It is quite a short film compared to others (91 mins), and therefore you are straight into the action and you have to understand the space jargon for yourself, which I respect the director for doing. Most films have big character development and have people explaining situations for the audience to understand. Not this one. Which is what I think may attract the same type of audience that watched and enjoyed Inception.
I could obviously talk more about this special film. But all I will say now, is go see it for yourself. Not only is this my new film of the year so far, it is now in my top 10 thrillers, my top 10 films of this current decade and most importantly, my top 100 films of all-time and quite high up.
Be prepared for the next step in film-making. I reckon it will make the rest of the big named directors take a step back, look at their next project and have second thoughts about it.
Rating: 9/10
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