We usually tend to view motion pictures purely as entertainment. We praise intense action sequences and elucidate on witty dialogue while describing the merits of films that endear themselves to us. Too often, it seems, we forget that these aren’t just movies; these are films, and films are technically works of art. Art should elicit an emotional response from its audience, and in this Alphonso Cuarón’s Gravity refuses to disappoint.
Viewed as a synopsis, there doesn’t seem to be a lot going on in Gravity. There are really only 2 characters and there’s mainly just one setting. But underneath this stripped concept lies layers of despondency, action, fear and humility. This is very much a story of the all too fleeting joy of life itself. Cuarón deserves as much credit for the overwhelming emotion his film evokes as he does for the breathtaking visual masterpiece he’s crafted. For such a small story, Gravity’s scope is massive, as one would expect from a tale about survival with the whole world as the backdrop. Its the seemingly innocuous minutia, though, that add depth and specter to what would, in the hands of a lessor filmmaker, become gee-whiz 3D gimmicks. I seriously doubt its a spoiler to tell you that there’s a scene in which Sandra Bullock’s character Dr. Ryan Stone cries, but I was in awe of how subtly the tears float off her cheek and into the foreground, jump into focus through the 3D effect briefly, and then subside back to join their brethren in the most natural, yet inventive way possible. The sound, and lack thereof, incorporates the audience into the story to eerie effect. We are treated both to an accurate rendering of what Dr. Stone would hear inside her space suit’s helmet, and to establishing shots from an outside perspective that create an unnerving effect as we see action unfold in utter silence.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
Alphonso Cuarón knows pain. Dr. Ryan Stone is the conduit through which we are witness to, among other things, her numbly describing her daughter’s death, accepting the fact that she is “...going to die today,” her guilt over watching the only other survivor sacrifice himself to give her a chance, and of course the terrifying sequence where she is floating out into open space with no bearing that’s shown in the film’s trailers. Cuarón also knows reprieve, as Dr. Stone’s heart-wrenching emotional toll is tempered by a beautiful floating fetal position rest, a hero’s monologue where hopes soar, and the final scene as our heroine walks out of the sea and basks in the sheer elation that she has survived as the music swells and the screen fades to black.
Honestly, the conclusion of Gravity feels disingenuous to me. I can perceive two points where the film would have rang more true had it ended. The first would be Dr. Stone accepting her fate and dying in the escape pod as she turned off the air pressure, the second would be abruptly ending after she had her yippee-ki-yay moment and started re-entry, leaving the audience hanging as to her fate. That said, I loved the ending. Real life usually doesn’t have a happy ending, and its nice to leave the theater feeling good about life.
