Gravity

[minor spoilers]

The wife and I had the rarest of rare things this weekend: a couple of free hours without children. We mutually decided to see Gravity. The wife had her reasons, and I had mine. I’d heard it was a technical marvel, I’d read the word “transcendent” thrown around on a few blogs, and it was a movie of another rarest of rare things: all the action takes place in low earth orbit.

After 90 tense minutes imprinting my clenched hands into the theater chair arm rests, I decided I loved this film. Well, that’s not exactly true. Three minutes into the film I decided I loved it.

The special effects are phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. This is a movie that deserves – needs – to be seen on the big screen, and in 3D if possible, both of which we did. See it big this way and you’ll get the best experience of being in orbit around the earth short of actually hopping a Chinese Shenzhou rocket. In fact, I’ve read that the movie stars three people: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and, well, space.

Forget everything you know about the world up there that you learned from science fiction teevee and movies. Most of it’s wrong. In space it is absolutely quiet. It is quite cold (unless you find yourself coasting a little too close to a very massive body). There is no up or down. And Newton’s First and Third laws reign supreme. A body in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force – and remember, space essentially is a vacuum, devoid of forces. And every action yields an equal and opposite reaction.

Oh, yes, and I forgot: Gravity can kill you.

The setting is beautifully established a few minutes into the film, and the plot driver a few minutes afterward. After that, it’s all nonstop intensity, Murphy’s Law in overdrive, as stranded astronauts try to get back home alive, three hundred and fifty miles down.

I’ve read some complaints about Gravity and agree with them to a certain extent. This “whatever can go wrong will go spectacularly wrong” motif in the movie generated the best line I saw – which I can’t go into for spoilers sake but will say it involves an alligator and a lake; you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see the film. Also the dialogue’s good but not great; sometimes corny and sometimes a little bit cliched. And as far as boycotting any Clooney movie – despite his loathsome left-wing politics – he is easily still one of the most charismatic and capable actor working in Hollywood today.

The movie does indeed have its “transcendence.” Like brillaint jewels sprinkled in the crisp, cold winter night, they’re there. Prayer, the life after this one, rebirth, the indomitable human spirit. It’s there. The wife and I also speculated on angels and “Early Man”, but that’s as far as I’ll go in this post. All in all, a beautiful movie.

Sandra Bullock is quite impressive; yes, they’re right when they say she can carry a movie by herself. I was pulled in by her character, her peril, her epiphany. She should be nominated for an Oscar. And if Gravity doesn’t win Best Picture – considering all the above – it would be a real shame.

Grade: A+