Gravity
Oh man, where to start? I was blown away by this film. This was a pure cinematic experience. I can remember a few films that have felt this way: Life of Pi, Hugo, American Beauty, Castaway, Pulp Fiction, Purple Rain, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars. That list is not by any means exhaustive but rather exemplary of a few of the films that have left me feeling almost devastated when I walked out of the theater (to note: a great many of my favorite films I haven't seen on the big screen -- something I find quite sad, frankly). Why did Gravity make me feel this way? The scope of the environment versus the relative smallness of the story. It's about as wide as you can go: one woman's survival vs. space.
Then comes the technical wizardry. Though I've seen this film twice now, once on the big screen and once at home (Thank you WB/SAG digital screener!), I can't wait to see it again. I want to pour over the shots, the beats, the emotions in much greater detail. It was awesome as a singular experience, but even richer on the second take when I began to peel back some of the surface layers and focus more on Sandra Bullock's performance. After the first screening I wasn't that impressed with her -- not that she did a bad job, but the magnificence of camera and the environment were so great she simply moved to the middle ground (not the background). As I deeply connected to her story (loss of child and one's life with it is one of my greatest fears), I certainly felt for her character and had a deep rooting interest. But as I watched the second time, I got more deeply involved with her craft, too. The subtlety with which she played the massive situation. She was surrounded by the great void, literally, with very limited experience and the ghost of George Clooney to cheer her on. And within that, she portrayed this woman's journey with strength, humanity, naked fear and rage that all fit. She's very worthy of her Oscar nomination (moreso than for "The Blind Side", which, to me, was a solid, yet not spectacular performance in a rather mediocre and predictable movie).
Finally, one of the elements that stands out to me in this and 12 Years a Slave for me is that they both use tropes of horror films extremely effectively. I'm a very big fan of psychological horror (not so much slasher stuff) and both of these films are, at least in part, psychologically horrific. I credit Director Alfonso Cuaron for recognizing and exploiting that angle in this masterful work. At this point, having seen six of the nine nominees, I strongly believe either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave should win for Best Picture.
Then comes the technical wizardry. Though I've seen this film twice now, once on the big screen and once at home (Thank you WB/SAG digital screener!), I can't wait to see it again. I want to pour over the shots, the beats, the emotions in much greater detail. It was awesome as a singular experience, but even richer on the second take when I began to peel back some of the surface layers and focus more on Sandra Bullock's performance. After the first screening I wasn't that impressed with her -- not that she did a bad job, but the magnificence of camera and the environment were so great she simply moved to the middle ground (not the background). As I deeply connected to her story (loss of child and one's life with it is one of my greatest fears), I certainly felt for her character and had a deep rooting interest. But as I watched the second time, I got more deeply involved with her craft, too. The subtlety with which she played the massive situation. She was surrounded by the great void, literally, with very limited experience and the ghost of George Clooney to cheer her on. And within that, she portrayed this woman's journey with strength, humanity, naked fear and rage that all fit. She's very worthy of her Oscar nomination (moreso than for "The Blind Side", which, to me, was a solid, yet not spectacular performance in a rather mediocre and predictable movie).
Finally, one of the elements that stands out to me in this and 12 Years a Slave for me is that they both use tropes of horror films extremely effectively. I'm a very big fan of psychological horror (not so much slasher stuff) and both of these films are, at least in part, psychologically horrific. I credit Director Alfonso Cuaron for recognizing and exploiting that angle in this masterful work. At this point, having seen six of the nine nominees, I strongly believe either Gravity or 12 Years a Slave should win for Best Picture.
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