Gravity Review

Gravity is a 2013 film about the space life and the situations faced by a shuttle crew. The catching thing about this film is that during the whole film the actors get involved in exciting and dangerous experiences. In addition, all the time the audience have expectations about the things that are going to happen in the next second. The film was directed, co-written, co-produced and co-edited by Alfonso Cuarón, and actors Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as the astronauts involved in the space shuttle mission.

The story is about two astronauts, Dr. Stone and Matt Kowalski. During a spacewalk, Mission Control warns the team about a Russian missile strike on a satellite, which has caused a chain reaction forming a cloud of debris in space. As a result, Mission Control orders that the mission be aborted. Suddenly, the high-speed debris strikes the shuttle, and leaves Stone spinning through space. Kowalski recovers Stone, and they make their way back to the Space Shuttle. After that, they realize that the only way they have to save themselves is to travel to International Space Station (ISS). When they are near the ISS, they see that its crew has been evacuated, and the remained Russian spaceship has its parachute deployed. Then, Kowalski suggests using it to travel to the Chinese station and board one of its modules to return to Earth. At the moment they hit the ISS, Stone's leg get stuck in the spaceship parachute. Despite Stone's protests, Kowalski disconnects himself from the rope to save her, and Kowalski floats away, while Stone enters the ISS. Meanwhile, a fire starts, forcing her to scape to the Russian spaceship. Next, Stone aligns the spaceship with Chinese Station, but discovers that its engine has no fuel. She gets desperate and tries to commit suicide. During that time, she dreams                   - Kowalski enters the capsule and he tells her to use the landing rockets to propel the capsule toward Chinese Station. - She restores the flow of oxygen and do it. Stone ejects herself and uses a fire extinguisher to travel to Chinese Station. The capsule splashdown and Stone evacuates it immediately.

Analyzing the actor’s performance, it is evident that they made an effort to put themselves in a real zero gravity environment. Furthermore, they used the scenography and special effects to make convincing their acting. The audience can see that they researched a lot to reach a credible performance; for example Sandra Bullock met an astronaut woman, because she wanted to know details about life in the space. When people heard about the movie for the first time, they thought “this film will be boring,” but when they saw it, their ideas changed because they really liked the acting and the way the actors got people involved into the situation. Besides, the end was unexpected.

The good job that the actors did is complemented and amplified by the excellent use of film techniques; for instance, the costumes they wore were close to the real astronauts’ spacesuits, even in the details and functionality. However, the film showed an unrealistic situation, when the debris disconnect Dr. Stone from the shuttle, but her spacesuit did not have any damage. On the other hand, the film used special camera angles and shots that gave the sensation of zero gravity; to illustrated, when the things go away or the spacesuit and dead people floating inside the shuttle. Another interesting thing is the real images of the earth and the use of the music, which created an unusual atmosphere.

Another important aspect of the film is the theme and its messages. One message is that the friendship is very important, and the way that you can support your friend or coworker even in an extreme situation. The other one is the importance to fight for your life in spite of the circumstances. The actors conveyed it as is shown following: Kowalsky most of the time was optimistic, even under an extreme situation, and faced everything with a smile. The importance of the friendship was shown, when he rescued her during the time she was spinning out of control, and when he disconnected himself to save her.  In the case of Stone, after she took the decision to survive; she put all her energy and abilities to stay alive and come back to the earth.

Finally, the film is interesting and entertaining, it catches the audience attention and gives them a reason to be focused in the dramatic situation. Also, it has excellent photography and special effects that help to recreate the reality. The film is appropriate for people who want to know about the space age, the astronauts’ work, and the possibility that common humans visit the space.

  MARIA CRISTINA HENAO RUIZ