Ridley Scott’s horror film Alien (1979) redefined the science-fiction genre with an unforgettable tagline: ‘In space nobody can hear you scream’.
The phrase would also suit Gravity, a nail-biting journey that’s as nerve-wracking as it is technically impressive.
Retiring astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) is sharing his own last trip with the first shuttle mission of brilliant medical engineer Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), and fellow astronaut Shariff (Phaldut Sharma).
“Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission,” jokes Kowalski as he yammers with Mission Control (voiced by Ed Harris), keeping the mood light as the team completes its delicate work.
Out of the blue, Mission Control orders Kowalski to abort the mission and return to Explorer: a Russian missile strike on a defunct satellite has created a debris cloud that is heading straight for the crew.
As Steven Price’s score reaches a deafening crescendo, razor-sharp debris rips apart Explorer, killing Shariff and hurtling Stone through space.
While seeing the Earth from space is often a fleeting movie experience, the outrageously-long opening sequence here is worthy of its own Oscar.
Not that Gravity’s cinematic pull ever fades. Rarely has any big picture been this beautiful for so long.
After the independent promise of Mexican co-writer/director Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También (2001) was tempered by the franchise formula of Harry Potter and The Prince of Azkaban (2004), his first feature since Children of Men (2006) bravely delivers a big studio picture that’s keen to show us things we’ve never seen before.
The nerveless Cuarón never changes Gravity’s direction away from its increasingly breathless core purpose.
Now 49, Bullock’s renewed confidence after her 2010 Oscar win for The Blind Side turns this into a weightless cross between Cast Away and her own Speed.
It’s not perfect – the climax feels too far fetched to match the shattering intensity of Tom Hanks’ current release, Captain Phillips, its obvious rival for Oscar glory.
Tense rather than terrifying, you’ll spend as much time wondering how Cuarón defied Earth’s gravity to shoot this as you will worrying about how Clooney and Bullock will make it home.
