This movie got a massive hype when it was in theaters and to think when the trailer came out no one in my social media communities, commercials, and even people surrounding in my daily life talked about it. (Unless you know, I hang around a few amount of people or that they really are not into movies, or I am just such a trailer eager kind of person.) Nonetheless, it made me think of how moviegoers are composed of. Just boggles my mind how some people watch a film because they are going with the flow and it is the trend.
AAAANNNYWAAAAY! That’s for another time. Maybe I’d discuss it in another blog entry. Just crossed my mind as I was about to talk about today’s FILM THOUGHTS. Drum roll please…GARAAAAAHHHVITYYYYY!!!
I was actually watching this movie while I was taking a break from working. I made a mental note to stop after 30 minutes because I needed to get back to work and finish what needs to be done. Yet I just could not stop myself. My eyes were completely glued on my monitor.
Nevertheless, I had a satisfactory look on my face after finishing the film. It was quite interesting how things turned out. My expectation were both unmeet and surpassed.
I guess, I got into the hype quite a bit. I actually watched the trailer before it got the huge hype. I found it quite interesting compelling though I didn’t know why. In some ways, watching the trailer, not only are you in that kind of suspense thrill kind of ride, but it made me expect something and so I was captivated by it.
Yet after watching the film, I realized the trailer gave the story up. It was about how a lone astronaut survive with a few sources on space. PERIOD. Simple right?
What made this film extraordinary was it used all the magic beans the film industry had. Great acting , direction, cinematography, editing, sound editing and even the most recent magic bean- CGI. (It may not have the greatest plot twisting story but they used all the other magic technique to deliver this film)
Now, I am actually proud of this film because they didn’t usually overused one magic bean than the other. Like some action films nowadays overkilled the used of magic bean CGI than the others. They used all of them equally.
Many people were praising Sandra Bullock’s performance to the point even the Academy Awards recognized it and nominated her. I even saw some reviews and post that her acting saved the movie. Actually, in my point of view, the story or rather the suspense and thrill of being alone, scared and everything weren’t all Bullock’s weight.
She did a brilliant job in acting as what she is told to do. This is your character play that. BAAAM! She did! Which I am actually not taking it in a offensive side. She did a splendid job but I felt she wasn’t given a complex character. Compared to Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine, she made the character so three dimensional, so real, so flawed and beautiful at the same time. I am not so sure if she interpreted it that way, or that Woody Allen wrote it tremendously. Nonetheless, I felt the realism and complexity of it all.
Bullock did not do it all on her own. If you watch it closely, the cuts, the sound and shots brought a great deal to it all. With her acting and all those magic beans in place they made a spectacular film, which to be honest you don’t see very often.
Usually, when you watch a suspense or thriller kind of movies, they would use one magic bean the most and the rest ummm…not so much.
Like 1 huge magic bean called acting then the rest tiny bits. Or, 1 huge magic bean called sound then the rest tiny bits.
This movie in particular not only did we hear Bullock’s pants and scream the sound (and even it’s editing) helped you to feel what she felt. Together with the cuts and shots the editing did, it made you even helpless and lost.
I actually adored one scene. Or better yet I noticed whenever a suspenseful scene is coming up they build it up in the most fascinating thing ever. So you see, Bullock’s expression together with some song. And when she realizes that she cannot work the ship so she can come home the song becomes faster. And together with some cuts and interesting shots, you as a viewer tense up. Then as the song, shots and cuts builds up BAAAAM! One silent long shot. And there in the center of it all, you see Bullock, throwing a tantrum. You see her shouting and kicking over her frustration but you don’t hear it because not only is it a long shot but the camera is right outside the ship…out there in space…where no one can hear you. That very shot tells all about the frustration, the anger, the emotions that Bullock projects and how a human feels in that dire hopelessness. And that realization, you are alone, no one will hear and save you. You are not only stranded in this dreadful silent place called-space but you are that close to getting home and everything just won’t work out.
Don’t you think that was an amazing scene? I thought it was brilliant! 🙂
I also liked the scene when Bullock’s character Dr. Ryan Strong was spinning and just floating around. You can hear her voice just at a lost and panting. Yes, you see her wiggling about trying to do something to the point you see her panicing but WHO WOULDN’T right? (so there is your acting) but the camera not only let’s you see her wiggling and panic-ing it even let’s you see in her point of view. From seeing her floating about in a blank scary space alone to gradually going inside the suit and seeing it in her point of view. Now, not only do you see it in her POV literally but you hear her oxygen decreasing. The camera did not only stay there for a quick look for you to see in her POV but it stayed long enough to you as audience to understand in her shoes what’s going on…what’s she is seeing, what she is experiencing. For you to feel the tension.
What I also liked about this movie, was after that panic and wiggling scene we see Bullock and Clooney’s character reunited. Then have themselves go to the nearby ships to get some help. You are then experiencing a slowness. Some kind of rest. As viewers yes, it is good as a visual storyteller to let your audience rest for a while but on this movie the rest is not only the reason. They wanted you to see the space. How space see our planet earth. How odd and fascinating it is to be both scared and amazed when you are in Space. They showed the two sides of life.
Yes, space is definitely silent. It’s a place that is terrifying because no one will ever hear you yet it is most tranquil place. You’d just get used to its silence and be lost in your deep thoughts. How terrifying and beautiful is it not?
For a visual storyteller, he or she needs to not only make an amazing story but to deliver it across in bull’s eye. Some movies can stand to have a story simple on its own and rely on others less, some need all the CGI they can muster to at least have billions of people watch a mediocre kind of story others might have a simple story to tell yet use everything effectively. One great example is Gravity.
Photo sources:
Gravity Poster: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Gravity_Poster.jpg
2nd gravity photo: http://www.ralphehanson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/gravity.jpg
An Easie Peasie Journal 