Gravity (Alfonso Cuaron, 2013) Review

And now for another film up-to-date film. Hopefully I can score a hat trick and deliver 3 new films in a row. So I read all the reviews, saw all the hype and finally decided to watch the box office smash that is Gravity. The director also caught my interest as his previous works include my favourite Harry Potter film, The Prisoner of Azkaban and Y Tu Mama Tambien, a film I looked at for Film Studies. It was also good to see a trailer not give much away although, having watched it, there wasn't much they could get away with in the trailers without ruining anything. So let's take a look at what seems to be set up as the best film this year.

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are two astronauts out in space on a mission which is both Ryan's first and Matt's last missions. Things go wrong though when a Russian missile strike on a satellite causes loads of debris to start circling Earth's orbit. The debris destroys their ship and Ryan and Matt are left alone in space. With oxygen running out and no radio signals, the two must rely on their wits to survive the horrors of space.

This film is absolutely beautiful. In every sense of the word. Not just down to how amazing the visuals are but the subtle writing, astounding performance from Sandra Bullock, wonderful soundtrack and just having the Earth looming over every shot creates a feeling of awe and is a marvel to watch. Sandra Bullock delivers an amazing performance which almost guarantees her an Oscar and I wouldn't be surprised if George Clooney is nominated too since he delivers some light-heartedness to the film. Even the cinematography is great as it makes the film look grand and epic even when it's a close up shot (also fun to see the first 10 minutes be one continuous shot).

This is exactly the sci-fi film that I've always wanted to see. A film that focused on realism (...for the most part, isn't that right WALL-E?) as well as the isolation in space. 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably the closest we've come to this but I'm sure all of you saw the ending and thought "....what?" (I get it the ending...I think). It's almost a peaceful film as some scenes leave you with the silence of space. It's serene. The great cinematography helps accompany this as well as an amazing soundtrack. 

Gravity is easily the best film I've seen this year. Everything is amazing from the damn good performance from Sandra Bullock to the excellent cinematography. Do yourself a favour and watch this ASAP, it deserves every star that it's received and I'm sure I could connect that line with space but...I'm not that smart. Hopefully the next review of mine should be ANOTHER 2013 film! Yay for affordable cinema!

Verdict:
10/10
Believe the hype. Gravity is as good as you've heard. Film of the year by far.