Gravity
2013 · Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Original language: English
- science fiction
- thriller
- drama
The story
Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
What it’s like
Long, unbroken takes drift through an almost pure black, with the Earth a luminous blue-and-white curve filling the frame and sunlight flaring hard off a suit's gold visor. The light is stark and unmodulated: direct sun on one side, nothing at all on the other, and the image is crisp and glossy rather than grainy. Sound is the real design choice, since the vacuum is rendered as near-total silence, broken only by breath, a heartbeat, the scrape of a helmet and a low, swelling score of synth drones and muted strings. The camera moves like a weightless body, slow and orbital, with the frame often sliding around a single figure tumbling against infinity. The vibe is isolated and awe-struck, a tense but quietly meditative sit, and it suits a late night on the sofa with the lights off or a long-haul flight with headphones. Pacing is taut and sustained, with sudden sharp bursts of debris-driven chaos followed by long stretches of stillness. Intensity runs high in its suspense: peril and claustrophobic panic, with some brief bloody injury and a few intense, sudden jolts, but no gore. The emotional arc follows a grieving woman slowly reclaiming her will to live. It is for people who want tension held in stillness, and a reflective, hopeful ending.
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