Had planned to post excerpts from several reviews — but it seems nobody is able to keep their mouth shut about plot twists. Go read Justin Chang at Variety at your own risk. He blurts out a dozen things you’ll wish you didn’t know. No wonder so many people in Hollywood have forgotten how to enjoy movies. Most of the pleasures gets ruined by clumsy critics before people have a chance to see for themselves. Todd McCarthy understands how to talk about a film without storytelling the whole plot, so here’s part of his review from THR.
George Clooney and Sandra Bullock star as astronauts in Alfonso Cuaron’s jaw-dropping space thriller.
At once the most realistic and beautifully choreographed film ever set in space, Gravity is a thrillingly realized survival story spiked with interludes of breath-catching tension and startling surprise. Not at all a science fiction film in the conventional sense, Alfonso Cuaron’s first feature in seven years has no aliens, space ship battles or dystopian societies, just the intimate spectacle of a man and a woman trying to cope in the most hostile possible environment across a very tight 90 minutes. World premiered at the Venice Film Festival, with Telluride showings following quickly on its heels, this Warner Bros. release is smart but not arty, dramatically straightforward but so dazzlingly told as to make it a benchmark in its field. Graced by exemplary 3D work and bound to look great in IMAX, the film seems set to soar commercially around the world.
…Before Cuaron even resorts to his first cut, the peril jacks way up with word of approaching space debris, the result of a chain reaction from the Russians having shot down one of their own satellites. Suddenly and shockingly, the empty space is filled with a metallic torrent from which only dumb luck can save the exposed space travelers. In this terrifying interlude, the ship is damaged and Stone, her umbilical cord severed, tumbles toward oblivion.
Here, as elsewhere in the film, Cuaron coils the tension and visceral impact of key scenes via a startling mix of the objective and subjective, and the extreme contrast between the stillness of empty space and the abrupt arrival of terrible threats. This is achieved by switching from the eerie electronic heaves of Steven Price’s insidiously effective score to total silence; from violent physical action to tight shots of Stone’s face, her breath visible on the inside of her mask and her nervous inhaling and exhaling the only sounds to be heard; from the beauty of a green, blue and tan planet on one side and the depths of infinite darkness on the other; from the awe of the cosmic to the terror of nothingness, from the warmth of the sun to the coldness of eternal limbo…
We’ll skip a paragraph here that I consider to be a spoiler. (Don’t anybody ask me ask why because the more I refuse to answer the closer to a spoiler it will be).
…No monsters pop out baring scary teeth, only adverse circumstances of such extremity that they place Gravity alongside Life of Pi and J.C. Chandor’s contemporaneous All Is Lost as a survival tale requiring a heroically concentrated form of human resilience. Those two films involve the peril of oceans rather than space, but then Gravity, with its characters all suited up and their heads enclosed in helmets, sometimes almost seems like it’s taking place under water — except that you can see more clearly.
And seeing is what it’s mostly about here, seeing space as if the film was actually shot there. It’s a wonderful cinematic jolt to watch this film for the first time, as it looks as if it had been filmed, as it were, on location. Given the brief running time, it will be tempting for many to return for second and third visits just to take it all in again, to absorb all Cuaron and his team of exemplary collaborators have done. The reliably brilliant cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who has shot all but one of the director’s features, has outdone himself here with images of astonishing clarity that, given the finesse of the 3D here, you practically feel you could step (or float) into. Andy Nicholson’s production design is mainly devoted to creating multiple much-lived-in space ships so battered and abused they resemble banged-up old cars, while Tim Webber’s peerless special effects work never has a CGI look.
October is looking loaded with Oscar material. Captain Phillips, Gravity, and 12 Years a Slave in limited release.
German reviews are lukewarm about Gravitiy. They seem to like the beginning, but that’s it. Some of the complaints: The characters are stereotypes, some scenes to sentimental, the screenplay reminds you of a computer game, the lack of subtlety in general.
So let’s wait for more reviews.
Saw the movie last night in Venice. The clips (trailers) are only a small fragment of the film, so don’t worry about having seen too much. Also, agreed with Ryan, skip Justin Chang’s review for now.
I’m having a sadomasochistic pleasure-delaying experience reading these reviews!
between these rapturous notices and the news that “Foxcatcher” is also coming out this year, my anxiety for these films is about to go on overload!
for my health, I (facetiously, of course) hope “12 Years a Slave” gets AWFUL reviews =P my heart can’t take this anticipation!
in all seriousness, though, glad the REAL films of 2013 seem to be actual, real films.
Ryan, THANK YOU for that opening paragraph. I’ve felt the same way for years. Why don’t film critics allow people to have the same surprises they enjoyed. To me just saying a movie has a twist ending in the first place is the same as revealing the twist ending itself.
Wow. I’m kind of stunned. Pleasantly so, but still. I had faith in Cuaron, but I didn’t expect rapturous reviews like this. Delighted at the prospect of a sci fi thriller expertly crafted by Cuaron and Lubezki being a real contender.
I just read Stephanie Zacharek’s rave review. Worth reading.
The first sci-fi Best Picture winner?
It’s going to be a treacherous 37 days till the US premiere.
Never doubt Cuaron I guess, I’m really excited about this movie. Wish I was going to Toronto this year!
I’ve seen maybe two Clooney movies….and I have a hard time accepting him as an “actor”….I want to see this movie, but it’s HIM that’s causing me to hesitate.
I also used to think like you. But lately I realized that he’s really a good actor and he’s made some great choices of projects lately. You can’t judge his career by two films. Here’s a few you won’t regret checking out (plus, even if you don’t like Clooney, there is no reason you shouldn’t watch Gravity, it’s Cuaron and it’s 80% Bullock on screen):
*Michael Clayton
*Up in the Air
*Three Kings
*Good Night, and Good Luck
*O Brother, Where Art Thou
*The Descendants
After watching these 6, I don’t think you’ll be hesitating on seeing a Clooney movie ever again. He’s not a GREAT actor, per se, but I definitely look forward to nearly all his projects now (something I emphatically did NOT expect to hear myself saying ten years ago).
“Had planned to post excerpts from several reviews — but it seems nobody is able to keep their mouth shut about plot twists.”
I almost skipped the thread for this reason, for fear of spoilage possibilities. Gravity seems like a film specifically showcasing Bullock and anything around her character […]; so, I was worried: if I did read too much of pro (or not) reviews, it would backfire. Usually, in other cases I though tend to be lenient to their blunders of sort.
Thank you, Ryan.
The film: I am drawn by the uber trailers (FX, etc.), somehow not the buzz around the piece in this case. That said, it’s great to feel like every one of the critics virtually loves it for the time being.
All the best to Ms. Bullock.
—
PS: Somehow, I personally find part of the excerpts taken from McCarthy’s review still feeling a bit like a giveaway in a sense — especially to a guy whom tends to read too much into it.
I was absolutely baffled that McCarthy put in that one paragraph. I always read his stuff first but I felt like the ending was basically given away. I really hope I read it wrong. Guy Lodge gave a good review and is relatively spoiler free if I remember and he did a fine job gauging how the audience will react. This is still my #1 movie of the year.
this will be a huge box office hit with the heat being another big box office hit for bullock and good reviews
cate blanchett is not going to win best actress anytime soon…
sandra bullock 2 times academy award winner…
LOL, the Academy is not going to award a second best actress statue to an actress in a sci-fi movie over a Woody Allen film, keep dreaming…
That’s right, little one, you keep telling yourself that.
What really scares me is Clooney’s massive presence in the Oscar Race this year with three movies likely to be in the race: August: Osage County (Producer), The Monuments Men (Producer, Director, Actor, Screenwriter) and Gravity (Supporting Actor). George could at best receive 6 noms. Methinks director and actor for TMM are long shots but the 4 others are perfectly in the realm of possibility.
I highly doubt Clooney gets in as Supporting for Gravity or Actor for Monuments Men. His best bets for noms this year are behind the camera.
Ryan, having seen the movie ages ago, I can say you are pretty spot on in trying to avoid those excerpts. For most of us, the film had already been sold as soon as the director’s name was attached to it, so I’m not sure that we necessarily need to be told or shown anything except the film itself and the story contained within. That’s the thing about marketing: it’s irrelevant if people already want to see your movie, and could even be potentially harmful for that group of people to be exposed to. That’s why I was annoyed with Warner Bros when they put up so many clips of the movie a month or two ago. We get it, its gonna be great, say no more! As far as the critics are concerned, when it comes to a movie like this I always wait until after I see it to go back and read their comments. It makes it more fun when we’re all knowing participants of the conversation. I’m happy to know that they all love it. It is indeed a masterpiece. But I’d advise anyone who hasn’t read the reviews yet or seen those clips to just steer clear and plop themselves in the theater on opening night.
Thanks for the heads up Ryan and sorry it was at your expense. I’m staying the fuck away. Already seems a bit of a lock in Best Director regardless of box-office. Is it naïve to expect a line-up that includes both Alonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen? at the Oscars? Hmm…
I know!
Like Lily Tomlin said,”Is this happening, or is it the hash?”
an actual movie…. so few of those.
Never worried that Cuaron wouldn’t deliver a great film, but the tweets are exemplary.
Looks like we have our first bona fide contender. Thrilled for him, Lubezki and Webber.
Interesting to see the TIFF and Telluride responses next week.
I’ve just read the tweets, this and the Variety review, so as early as this may sound, I’m fairly certain that we have our first real lock for a nod in BP and BD and also the second lock after Blanchett in Best Actress and since both reviews made sure to praise Clooney, too, supporting actor is a damn strong possibility, as well.
Bottom line : Early word suggests that Gravity is a masterpiece.
No way this is a lock until it has been consumed by the full critical spectrum and by audiences. The Academy won’t even consider a sci-fi film that flops either critically or commercially. While the former looks unlikely now, we still don’t know how this will perform financially. If it ends up disappointing in that arena, don’t expect them to go near it in major categories.
Also, I refuse to see anyone as a lock for Best Actress at this stage this year. That’s an exceptionally crowded field already, with so many women in films both seen and as yet unseen vying for positions there. I’m probably forgetting a lot, but these are the ones off the top of my head right now:
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine
Marion Cotillard in The Immigrant
Sandra Bullock in Gravity
Nicole Kidman in Grace of Monaco
Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Julia Roberts in August: Osage County
Amy Adams in American Hustle
Berenice Bejo in The Past
Naomi Watts in Diana
Brie Larson in Short Term 12
Julie Delpy in Before Midnight
Kate Winslet in Labour Day
Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks
Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha
Judi Dench in Philomena
Jessica Chastain in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby
Bullock is better in this movie than she has EVER been in anything else, but I agree that genre bias makes her a dark horse candidate. Emma Thompson and Cate Blanchett seem like safe bets to me, and I’ll have to see how the others pan out to make further prognostications. For now I AM calling Bullock to get a nod, but I’d be utterly unsurprised (and more than a little disappointed) if she were snubbed.
Interesting! Hopefully, this will stir up awards season and be a nice respite from the usual Oscar fare.
In other news, Oprah has already received presidential endorsement from both Barack Obama and George H.W. Bush for her performance in Lee Daniels’ The Butler:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/barack-obama-the-butler_n_3825289.html?ref=topbar
Is she going to be this year’s Anne Hathaway? aka “She won the Oscar the moment she was announced for the part.”
Thanks for censoring! Sorry you had to discover all the spoilers first tho in order to alert us to their existence.
That review only makes me even more excited. Hurry the fuck up November!
I’ll be ok. It’s not tragic. I know I’m being super-sensitive in an effort to keep my cluelessness intact for this particular film. I don’t want to know anything more than I already know. I was able to veer away from sentences that seemed to be about to reveal too much. But Chang’s review at Variety looked like a minefield of too much detail.
I usually accept that I’m gonna find out plot points about most major movies before I see them. Particularly awards contenders, which are seen by so many American critics November or December, while I have to wait until January or February, and they remain in the conversation through those months. But I don’t want to know any more about Gravity than the promotional material has revealed, and though there’s been a lot of it, it seems to be largely restricted to one specific part of the film, revealing plot details we already know.
Last year, I tried the same thing with Prometheus. Read Roger Ebert’s four star review of it. No surprises for me there!