Chance's Corner: Gravity

Of all the Oscar contenders for 2013, Gravity is the only one I've seen. Sad? Nah. Truth is, it's the only one I cared about seeing. I needed to know, was all that critical acclaim on Rotten Tomatoes (a site that amasses all critical scores for a movie and compiles them into a Rotten or Fresh status) just a bunch of hype? I mean, it has a 97% Fresh rating! That's CERTIFIED FRESH. While some might agree that it was a load of hype, I wholeheartedly disagree.

I believe that some might assume that this is just some action-packed space thriller with lots of explosions and popcorn-chugging cinema fun. It's not. Gravity is an experience. Sure, there is destruction and heavy doses of thriller-like elements, but that's not the central focus. Thematically, this film is about Dr. Ryan Stone's (Sandra Bullock) re-birth through adversity. And there's A LOT of adversity. There's space debris that lingers and attacks like Jaws every 90 minutes. There's lack of oxygen. There's out-of-control spiraling into space. Just A LOT. Sounds intense, which it is, but at times it comes slowly. Yes, there are slow parts, but thank goodness! Otherwise, Dr. Stone would of had a heart attack!

You may be asking, what do you mean that Gravity is an experience? Well, it's a mixture of hard and easy to explain. What really struck me was the use of sound. Of course, there is no sound in space, and that's how it's presented in this movie. It's silent... desolate... dark. There's a huge universe out there to explore, but it comes off as confined and claustrophobic. That doesn't mean there isn't any soundtrack (which is wonderful all in itself). Also, all the physics involved add to the overall experience. I could talk about it all day, but what you really need to do is watch it yourself and see what I mean.

Overall, Gravity swept away seven Oscars from the other contenders in the Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects categories. All were well deserved.

We have other Oscar winners here at the Franklin County Library such as Dallas Buyers Club, Blue Jasmine, The Great Gatsby and 12 Years a Slave. Of course we have the nominees such as Nebraska and Captain Phillips too.