Movie Review - Gravity

Gravity **** (PG-13) There have been plenty of movies that were close to being one-actor tours de force with their star stranded in Spartan or hostile environs - Spencer Tracy in Old Man and the Sea; Tom Hanks in Cast Away; Sam Rockwell in Moon; Sigourney Weaver in Alien; the upcoming Robert Redford nautical solo, All is Lost, to name a few. This one gives us Sandra Bullock as an astronaut who is more schooled in science than flight, finding herself alone in orbit after her vehicle and communication with NASA are wiped out by space debris. With some help from the only other surviving member of her crew (George Clooney), she has to control her panic, remember her training and figure out a way back to Earth. Her performance and the film are first-rate, with terrific special effects complementing a suspenseful screenplay, directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuaron. Awards season beckons, as it did for several of these films.

Though Bullock was supposedly far from being the first choice for the part, she nails it. Not only does she effectively cover the full range of thoughts and emotions one might expect for her character in that extreme position of peril, but she looks like someone who attained her peak physical condition for the rigors of space travel. The latter is particularly impressive for any non-athlete in his or her late 40s. If possible, try to see this in IMAX or other 3-D, since some of the effects are particularly stunning with those enhancements. (10/4/13)