Gravity (2013)
86th Academy Awards 2014
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 10 awards, of which it won 7.
Nominated for Best Picture (Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman), Best Actress (Sandra Bullock), and Best Production Design (Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woollard).
Won Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), Best Director (Alfonso Cuarón), Best Film Editing (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger), Best Original Score (Steven Price), Best Sound Editing (Gienn Freemantle), Best Sound Mixing (Chris Munro, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Skip Lievsay), and Best Visual Effects (Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Tim Webber).
Watched April 7, 2014.
What was undoubtedly this year's overall "winner" at awards night, Gravity is a huge accomplishment in all areas of filmmaking. To get ten nominations is impressive enough, but to walk away at the end of the night with seven wins is a testament to the skills behind this piece. If that isn't enough, the movie even lives up to the hype. From story and casting to visuals and sound, the film is a feast for your senses.
Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer on her first space mission. While out on a routine space walk making repairs, their shuttle is hit by debris and Ryan finds herself detached from the shuttle and spinning helplessly into space. Luckily, her colleague Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) who is vastly more experienced, was attached to thruster jets when disaster hit and he is able to tether Ryan to himself and begin a horrifying orbit around the earth towards a space station. Every breath is terrifying as Ryan's space suite constantly reminds her how little oxygen she has left. She has to learn to overcome her fears and must refuse anything but survival as a possibility.
We know very little about the characters, but the back story that is revealed about them gives all we need to know. The story is not simple and predictable, although it has the possibility to be that. While Clooney's performance is simple and to the point, his character is exceedingly impressive and calm. Bullock commands attention, adding to the crescendo of sound and visuals that make Gravity hard to look away from. Her nomination was extremely well deserved.
The film does not make a grand statement. It revolves around the ideas of "you never know who might be listening" and that space is not able to be conquered--that life in space is impossible. Almost right away Ryan says, "I hate space," which sets up her character for what she is about to experience. You might laugh, you might cry, and you will definitely be sitting at the edge of your seat. I can only imagine what the film was like in the theatre in 3D, but even on my HD 47inch it was to die for.
Director, writer, and editor Alfonso Cuarón paired with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki are unstoppable. I cannot rave enough about the imagery and the lighting. To be fair, there was no weak link. All of the puzzle pieces fit.
Clearly I would highly recommend this film. It is one of the best films out of Hollywood in a long time.
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