Gravity is a dazzling achievement that should cement director Alfonso Cuaron’s reputation as one of the most visionary filmmakers working today. The story it tells is a straightforward one; two astronauts (George Clooney and Sandra Bullock) must figure out a way to survive after a horrible accident in Earth orbit. That’s it; no aliens, no fancy starships, not even another human. The only company these two have is the Earth itself, which looms in the background in breathtaking resplendence. The rest of the movie is a white-knuckled exploration of zero-gravity physics.
Gravity doesn’t have the emotional or thematic heft of Children of Men, Cuaron’s other masterpiece. But that’s okay because Gravity‘s currency is spectacle. Both Clooney and Bullock deliver fine performances, but the movie could feature Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber and those first 15 minutes would still be awe-inspiring. This is a movie that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. It demands to be seen twice.
