Road to the Oscars: Day Five (Gravity)

Life in space is impossible.

I didn’t want to see this movie. When the trailer first came out, with Sandra Bullock’s endless heavy breathing and screaming, I thought to myself that there was no way in hell you were going to get me to sit through that for an hour and half. 

Then it came out and all I heard were positive reviews. I still didn’t give in though, I still wasn’t sure I could handle it. That trailer had just freaked me out. 

Then my best friend saw it. Said it was good, I’d like it. I thought to myself, sure, I’ll watch it. I’ll just put on my ‘to-watch list’ and it can sit on that list until the moment arrives where I have to watch it or perhaps, for some strange reason one day, I feel like watching it. 

Well I guess that moment arrived. No, not the one where I feel like watching it: the one where I have to watch it. It was nominated for Best Picture, and I’ve decided to review each nominee. I guess I really dug my own hole with that one. 

That whole story is really to just inform you how much I didn’t want to see this movie and how wrong I was. Basically there are two characters in this movie, Ryan Stone is played by Sandra Bullock and Matt Kowalski is played by George Clooney. There is a few other voices for a while, but that’s seriously about it. It’s strange, but oddly, it works. I thought I would have a problem with just Bullock, Clooney and a whole lot of space and heavy breathing but I have to admit that I didn’t even notice it untilI I had finished watching it. Bullock holds her own really well, and there is enough drama for the audience to be entertained while still only have one person on their screen. 

Understandably, the things that happen in this movie are quite unbelievable, but that’s alright with this movie because it’s space, and space itself is so unbelievable that you could say or do anything with it and I would believe you, no questions asked. 

Also, something happened to me which usually doesn’t happen when I watch a film: I fell for a character’s backstory. I can do it super easy with television, and in films where they are based on books I’ve read, but when it’s just a film, I find I don’t always get into them because it’s just too cliche for me. Somehow it feels too quick. However, the five minutes where Kowalski is trying to calm Stone down and ask her questions about her life, just really got to me. There were even a few tears. That’s how good Bullock is in this movie; I fell for some sad backstory. 

I don’t think this will win any Oscars. Perhaps for cinematography (and special effects or something) but Bullock won’t win Best Actress because that belongs undoubtably to Cate Blanchett. It also won’t win Best Picture but I’ll tell you something I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of saying a few days ago: I’m glad it was nominated.