Assignment #17 - Irene Kim - Gravity

I've been procrastinating on this particular blog post because it involves watching a movie, and I really wanted to see the new Little Women film and compare it to the 1994 version (which I love and cherish). However, a month later, I still haven't gotten around to seeing it and probably won't anytime soon. So, I decided to go with the second option and post a movie review "out in the wild."

Recently, I watched Gravity with my parents (it's a 2013 film, so it wasn't at the movies). *major spoilers ahead* It stars two timeless actors, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, and primarily takes place in outer space. Clooney plays Matt Kowalsky, an experienced mission commander, while Bullock plays a medical engineer named Dr. Ryan Stone, included in the mission for her gifted tech skills but a far novice in space missions. Another thing to note about the character of Stone is that she lost her daughter at a very young age and has since lost a sense of purpose in her life, leading her to go to outer space without fear. The mission does not go as planned, leaving the two stranded in outer space with no connection to Earth. This is my review:

Gravity, by my interpretation, is more of a journey of Ryan's character than anything else. From the beginning of the film, the audience is made aware that she lost her 4-year-old daughter after she fell on her head while playing tag--the most inane accident costed a life. The audience can imagine the sorrow that Ryan must have felt, which then likely led her to take on the space mission without fear, having lost any sense of purpose in her life. This makes it all the more significant when Kowalski *spoiler* gives his life to save hers and makes her promise him that she will survive. He gives her a sense of determination and purpose--a promise to make it back to Earth, at least in his memory if not for herself. The most heart-wrenching moment came when she believed she had lost all hope of returning. Embracing her death, she turns on the radio and picks up a signal from a foreign country. Although it can do nothing to save her, she cries of joy as she hears the sound of dogs barking and human voices--the scene is so incredibly raw, looking into the core of the human emotion. This is almost the best part of the movie--how unbelievably raw and realistic the movie is. I would have no clue what outer space is like in actuality, but Gravity is a far improvement from the typical space film. No orchestrated music, or sci-fi powers, or sudden fated miracles (kind of). Throughout the film, the sound is muted, almost blocked, immersing the audience into a space-like setting. When Ryan *again, spoiler* makes it back to earth, she grips the sand and feels grateful for having solid ground under her feet--the sense of purpose that she lost with her daughter has been restored. The entire film is just unbelievably raw and emotional; it has a lot of takeaways for everyone. I would highly recommend it for anyone!

Link: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/978533694