For someone like Alfonso Cuarón who loves to emphasize his universe through long takes and tracking shots, space must be heaven in more ways than one. There is a sequence between seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) when they discuss the good things about space.
They agree they like the silence. The part where you can just be yourself, tune everyone and everything else out and just reach a zen state of mind. It reads like a wish list for Cuarón himself and his way of filmmaking and space - the endlessness gives him all the freedom to indulge in.
He gleefully does and the result, much like the view that Kowalski repeatedly claims, is breathtaking.
Cuarón improvises and doesn’t just wish to take advantage of the stretching of space but also focuses repeatedly on the loneliness and the claustrophobic nature of it.
Gravity may be a sci-fi thriller but it thematically has little to do with science. The film doesn’t bother itself with plausibility because its ambitions are more visceral. There is the invisible running motif of hope in the most hopeless and distressing of states. The film is a sweet and scary marriage of great special effects with genius filmmaking.
It is nothing but pure cinema. As Dr Stone evolves, we evolve both as movie audience and with respect to our place in this universe.
It might reveal a flaw or several with multiple viewings (which it deserves) but it will stay one thing throughout- fascinating.