"Gravity"-3D (English) Movie Review

You cannot make a bad film with a good script. "Gravity" is the film of the year so far that celebrates the spirit of American Cinema where script is the most sacred thing and everybody plays second fiddle to it, including a studio like Warner Bros. "Gravity" is all about living in outer space, up above the world so high, as the rhyme says. It's about two people Mathew Kawalsky (George Clooney) and Dr.Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) who are out on a mission to outer space called SKS-157 alongwith an Indian scientist. Their mission gets hit by debris from space from other Satellites exploding and soon the Indian engineer is gone. It's now down to two survivors but more disaster strikes the two Astronauts as they are routinely space-walking.  Matter of time before George Clooney lets himself untethered out of Sandra's rope to become a speck in space. 

It's now upto Sandra playing the role of Dr.Ryan Stone to come to terms with finding the remnants of the mission SKS and also  to tell the one helluva story that Mathew egged her on to tell even after he's gone, sitting on the edge of space. There's a second coming of George Clooney for fans who are disappointed to see him vanish within forty minutes of this out-of-this-world adventure. Thats the only cinematic flash by director Alfonso Cauron to bring back Clooney to his cooing fans. Be that as it may, "Gravity" is a visual extravaganza that captivates you till the sole survivor Sandra makes it back to Earth. With nothing but deafening silence and your own thoughts and your own voice with space-suits silhouetting your body weight maybe three or four times and yet floating uneasily like a feather in a no-gravity zone, Sandra Bullock packs a punch. George Clooney sharing screen with Sandra less than half the time than her space-suit once again shows why he gets the top bucks at Hollywood. Alfonso Cauron and his son who co-wrote the story give us a new high in cinematic experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life.  Music by Edward Rice takes the experience to ecstatic levels mixing a combination of philharmonic orchestra music with gentle bass and church-bell chords. 

Once calamity hits the lead pair and survival seems remote, you wonder whether this space odyessey has any twist or any elements that sustain your interest. But voila! thats where the screen-writing sizzles. Dialogues between Sandra and George pile up and a story for each character emerges. Sandra is a doctor who needs to be nudged and George is a retiree Mission specialist who inspires her to survive even as he is ready to blaze out of O2 supply and perish. Some visuals and dialogues here will make you freaked out on the experience and empathise with those mortals who leave our planet for extra-terrestrial explorations. How does the Sun Rise look from the above? How beautiful Earth looks from above while we have nothing exciting eking out our daily living? George Clooney gets the best lines even as he fades out faster from the screen: "There's nobody up here to hurt you", "One of us will have to survive to tell the story thats one helluva story", "How beautiful the Sun Rise is on the Ganges" and so on. 

Sandra's second innings is also worthy of note. She had to be in cruise-control for the entire film as per the plot but she pulls it off with depth and glory. Her monologues after it becomes clear she is the only one to report back are well-handled. There's one beautiful scene where she tunes into radio waves and hears a Chinese spy satellite guy. She yearns to decipher the other guy but couldn't make out Mandarin from Mandrake, she gives up and soon hears a dog howling mildly and she howls back matching the dog in tone, reconciling to the fact that when you are alone in space, any "other" voice is good enough. Experiences like these run their course in a short movie of less than 100 minutes but they remind you of the insignificance of life's petty issues when you are on the planet's surface and the significance of survival itself when you are a loner in a space thousands of miles above the Earth's atmosphere. 

Whatever be the intention of making this film, director Alfonso Cauron and his cinematographer have achieved a rare feat in Hollywood's history to create a blissful experience of a lifetime. It is like buying tickets for a space odyessey that orbits our own planet at comfortable speeds. Credit must go to the entire team of Warner Bros. for selecting a theme that will resonate with all Earthlings. Everytime you use your mobile phone or tune in to FM Radio or send an email or watch the Television, remember there's somebody up there who has gone forward in space but gone backwards in time so that we have our frills. Don't miss this film for the world! The 3-D effects are okay but not purposive.But if a rating be pinned, I am not going to be accountable for overlooking the few lapses that may be visible only on a second viewing. It deserves 4.75 out of 5.

And the Oscar goes to...

3.5 inches high, 6.75 pounds, tin and copper, with gold plating. A rough sketch of  a figure holding a sword hanging on the reel of a film. Not the best of designs but since 1927, its the hallmark of recognition and respect. It is probably the best-known statue in the world, known as the Oscar, because Margaret Herrick, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts (MPAA)'s first Librarian, named it as Oscar because it resembled a lot like her uncle Oscar. Monday mornings in India on 27th Feb-1st March are something to look forward to  - Its the night of Oscars telecast live in this part of the world, thanks to Star Movies. An awards ceremony that celebrates the achievements of cinema the Hollywood way, the night of limited dance and song, of solemn remembrances, of a brief snapshot of the non-Hollywood cinema seen through the prisms of "Foreign Language" category. The night of all-colour men and women dressed in Black and White and Red array of shining, coal-black, shining costumes. The night which has epic commentary on how Hollywood breathes life into the annals of society through its movies of the year.
I always admired the preciseness, grand scale of executions, class and charishma that underlines the Oscar awards. Only the best talent who usually vie with one another - screenwriters, costume designers, animators, editors, sound recordists, stage and setting designers, actors and actresses, playwrights and lyricists, writers and comedians - all of them get together, give their best flat foot forward, lend their voice, pen, nerve and sinew to make it the spectacle that counts. Somehow, the humor that comes out of this one night, according to me, is enough to drive you to raptures of laughter. Its like the night when the wit and received wisdom of PG.Wodehouse, Groucho Marx,  Erma Bombeck and  Woody Allen pillorie the pale lines off your face.
Talk about the comperes, I grew up catching up of the best comedians and standup-champions chaperone the Awards nights - from Bob Hope to Woody Allen, Billy Crystal to Eddie Murphy to Robert Downey Jr. Over the years, the Awards represent an assemblage of talents coming together to give the best glimpse of the Industry' united strength - although it is never the case because all folks can't be satisfied. I remember Bob Hope the great humorian who lived till the age of 100 - he started the whole tradition of hosting the funny side up. He never won an Oscar and rubbed it in at one of the Awards Ceremonies: "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Academy Awards, or as it's known in our house, Passover."
Tonight (or tomorrow morning for us in India), you have some of the best contemporary actors competing for the top honours - the likes of Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and George Clooney ("The Descendants") and the classic legends like Merryll Streep. Sophistication and class, subtety and style  - you can expect to see a harvest of all of these in the Awards ceremony especially with Billy Crystal - Oscar Awards Host for the ninth time - replacing Eddie Murphy. Contrast this with the crassness of the Filmfare Awards - OMG! Come on, Oscars, lights on!