Gravity
When I heard that Alfonso Cuarón was making a new film I was instantly excited. He is responsible for two of my favourite films having previously directed Y Tu Mamá También and Children of Men both of which I highly recommend you seek out and watch if you haven't seen them. It has been seven long years since Children of Men so seeing his name attached to a movie as director once again sold me instantly.
I went into Gravity knowing as little as possible and it is the way that I would recommend anyone seeing it if possible. It is also the reason that this post will be short and sweet I simply don't want to talk about what happens as the journey that the movie takes you on is what makes it special. I think its okay to say that its set in space and stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as two astronaut on a mission which doesn't go entirely to plan.
Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (Clooney)
Now what I can say is that Gravity was like nothing that I had seen or experienced in the cinema before. It looked stunning with the best use of 3D I've seen since Life of Pie. I'm not a fan as 3D as a rule as it seems every blockbuster has to shoehorn it in in order to add a few extra pounds onto the each cinema ticket. But I don't mind when it is used to improve a movie and this is a prime example of that. It use here helped to convey the depth and isolation of space, making you feel a part of every scene and shot.
And man what shots those are! The opening one in particular was incredible seeming to last 10 plus minutes without a cut. We are taken around the scene as if we ourselves are up there floating with them, but then seamlessly moving into Bullocks helmet getting a first person view and then back out again continuing the scene. It was breathtaking and I would love to sit Cuaron down and ask him how he did it.
Then there was the use of sound and in several cases absence of it perfectly portraying what it would be like to be in the vacuum of space. When you combine the sound and visual techniques on display you are left with a unique and ultimately brilliant cinema experience. One that stuck with me and had me thinking about it for the days that followed. I felt like I had been put through the same experience as the characters in the film and that was special because they are experiences that cinema has rarely touched on especially with this much style.
Curaon passing on his vision to Clooney & Bullock
Come Oscar time this will be a front runner and I can see it picking up most of the technical awards such as sound design and visuals but I also hope that Curaon is also recognised because he has created a unique and extremely polished cinema experience which once again proves that he is one of the great directors working today.
I will be seeing this again before it leaves the cinema as I don't think it will have the same impact on a TV screen and if you even have a passing interest and have not seen it yet I urge you to go as soon as you can. This is the time of year when the cinema is full of interesting and potentially excellent movies but I will be impressed if any can top Gravity this awards season. I no doubt will have fun finding out though.
Written by
Owen whilst recovering from watching Wales stuff Argentina :D
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