“Life in space is impossible.”

Promotional title card for the film

It is rare these days that I get to see a decent space thriller, while actually wanting to put down the money for the experience. Gravity was just that, an experience.

I can’t even describe this film as science-fiction. “Science-reality” is the more appropriate term.

As the film’s trailer depicts, Gravity tells the story of a routine space walk gone awry. When orbiting debris renders their shuttle inoperable and cuts off communications with Earth, two astronauts (played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney) must fight to survive the rigors of space and find a way to get back home.

(Caution: Spoilers ahead)

I’ll admit, after first seeing the trailer this past summer, I didn’t think there could be much to the film. When I read later that elements such as ambient sound would be absent from the film, I immediately became intrigued. I had never seen a film before that had the potential to demonstrate the real effects of space. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is the only thing that comes close, but because the film premiered in 1968, the cinematic world has been long without a realistic space thriller due to the success of films like Star Wars (1977), Aliens (1986) and Independence Day (1996). The final pull for me was James Cameron, one of my favorite filmmakers, calling Gravity the best space film ever made. I said to myself, “If this guy’s saying it’s, I need to at least give it a chance.”

Sandra Bullock’s character works on the Hubble Space Telescope in the film’s opening

Now, I can’t vouch for specifics regarding physics, space walks and orbiting satellites/space stations, but my basic knowledge of space tells me that Gravity makes the effort to put the viewer in space, as opposed to other science-fiction space thrillers.

When the characters are in space (specifically outside the space stations), their dialogue is presented to the viewer through the astronaut’s headsets, making it as if one’s listening to recorded radio transmissions.

When debris makes impact with the shuttle and International Space Station, no explosions are heard. One simply looks upon the destruction without any accompanying sound. I will say, however, that music is sometimes substituted for the sound of destruction. As debris hurls toward the spacecraft, the music’s intensity and dynamics increase. So in a way, the film’s intense moments are emphasized solely through the use of music.

I can only describe the rest of the film’s sound (while in the vacuum of space) as the effect of wearing ear plugs. It’s that feeling where everything is drowned out, and you can almost feel sound rather than hear it. This was also the first film I’ve seen in 7.1 surround sound where the sound is actually meant for the 7.1 format. This only made the use of sound more realistic in terms of the sounds’ points of origin. The film’s use of sound certainly made Gravity a surreal experience.

Another technical aspect I loved about the film was the camera movement. When watching a film, it’s easy to tell if the camera is anchored or handheld. In Gravity, the camera isn’t once still. This gives the picture and viewer a sense of weightlessness; perfectly appropriate for a space setting. It’s almost as if the viewer is in space with Bullock and Clooney. Then there are moments where the camera switches to Bullock’s point of view, such as the moment where she’s locked in a spin – the key scene of the trailers.

The visuals are an element I can’t even begin to describe. The shots of Earth alone were some of the most captivating images I’ve ever seen on the big screen. The sight of the aurora borealis, from a position where the sun is out of view, was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen in film. Of course, it only makes me want to witness the northern lights in reality even more, but that’s just one of the many things this film did for me. Nothing has made me feel more insignificant as a human being. From space, one can see how this planet simply lives on, despite the numerous social, political and economic problems that surround us on the surface. If we humans were to disappear today, the Earth wouldn’t change. It would look the same from space and continue to spin on and on and on.

Promotional art for the film

Everything just seemed so peaceful above the Earth. Ironically, the view distills just how dangerous space is. The final line of text before the film’s title in the opening reads, “Life in space is impossible.” I loved how that point was made before we see any part of the story. No setting, characters or anything. The film just bluntly makes the point, stating the truth. The thought of how life in space being impossible sticks with you (or me at least) from that point on.

George Clooney’s character holds on for his life in one of the film’s most dramatic scenes

Gravity’s running time of 91 minutes makes it perfectly paced. I feel anything longer, say two hours, might have dragged the film a bit because thinking about it, as captivating as the visuals were and how simple the story was, there’s only so much of that one can show before a large audience begins to lose interest. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for me.
Was the acting perfect? Not necessarily, but it wasn’t terrible either. It works well enough for the visuals to compensate for any dissatisfaction with the actors’ efforts.

Bullock’s character attempts to contact Clooney’s from inside the International Space Station

If one expresses any interest in this film whatsoever, I definitely recommend seeing it in the theater because watching Gravity on a home television, no matter how big, will only take away from the film’s experience. But all in all, as a story of survival and confronting the fear of being alone combined with some of the 21st century’s best special effects, Gravity is certainly a must-see for science-fiction and space enthusiasts.