One of the best aspects in the art of filmmaking is being able to see how cinema has evolved over the years. Every decade or so, there are new technical advancements that set out to create milestones that were once the stuff of dreams, and are now a startling beautiful reality. There was Stanley Kubrick's surreal "2001: A Space Odyssey," George Lucas' space opera "Star Wars" and the lush, 3D extravagance of James Cameron's "Avatar."
Now, visionary director Alfonso Cuaron transports us to the immensity of outer space with this landmark film, his sci-fi survivor story, "Gravity." He crafts a simple premise of two lost astronauts, and creates a modern space epic. What is different about this addition to the sci-fi canon, however, is that the astronauts don't have extraterrestrials to worry about. What they have to fear can be considered more terrifying: the vastness of the starry abyss and the unwavering sense of loneliness and hopelessness.
Bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first mission in space, led by astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who is on his final expedition. While repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, the crew is bombarded by space debris that leaves Stone and Kowalski as the only survivors. Their shuttle, the Explorer, is destroyed, and communication has been cut off from Mission Control in Houston. With a limited supply of oxygen left in their suits, Stone and Kowalski must find a way to get to the International Space Station and plan their next steps to make it back home, before it's too late.
It's appropriate that Sandra Bullock's character is surrounded by stars in the film because her film-carrying performance reminds us of why she's one herself. When we first see her character, the way she exhibits such attentiveness to her work has us believe she's been doing this type of work for far longer than she really has. This confidence in her work is essential to how she exerts herself to survive in the film later on. We are with her throughout the film's entirety, so we feel every emotion that Bullock displays. From confusion to fear to a brief sense of relief to frustration to desperation, we are as fully immersed in her emotional journey as we are in the journey of her drifting through the black, starry nothingness.
George Clooney plays his character as a professional who exhumes pure confidence under pressure, and is someone you could trust when facing danger. He is our guide every much as he is Stone's, and we want to hang onto his every word as he reminds and assures her, and us, that everything will be all right
In true Cuaron fashion, he makes extensive use of the long-take style of filmmaking, with the film being hypnotically shot by his frequent collaborator, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. The camera movements are beautifully inventive, and they follow the action in fluid motions that make the camera look as though it's floating through space with ease.
The first 15 minutes of the movie are shot in one, unedited shot, fully absorbing the audience in the action from the very beginning. The shot begins with a glorious view of Earth, and ends with one of the film's most haunting images, that of a helpless Stone spinning deeper into the void, and dizzying point-of-view shots follow shortly after that throw the audience even more into the panic-inducing situation.
The 3D photography adds a depth to the starry abyss that will transport the audience eerily close to the actual thing. It's unquestionable and essential that you experience this adventure with the extra dimension.
Seeing as there only two characters throughout much of the movie, the screenplay, which was written by the director and his son, Jonas, is fully focused on the characters, and the viewer learns just enough about them to care about their fates. The two are written in such a way that makes us want to spend as much time with them as we can, because we never know for certain if they will get out of this alive.
The Cuarons also include symbolic reference to rebirth in their story, with the tether between Stone and Kowalski acting as a metaphoric umbilical cord as the two support one another and keep each other alive, and the space suits standing in as wombs that shelter and protect them. The strongest images of rebirth come in the last few minutes of the film, but it's tough to disclose anything else on this matter without giving much away.
The screenplay's only weakness is that the events in the film tend to get a little repetitive as the story goes on, however, the Cuaron duo should be given credit to acknowledging that they could only make the concept of two people lost in space go a certain distance. It moves at a brisk and engaging 90 minutes, never being longer than it has to be. A little side note that movie buffs might find interesting is that, in what is definitely a nod to another great space movie, Ron Howard's "Apollo 13," Ed Harris provides the voice for Mission Control.
After a seven-year hiatus from directing, Alfonso Cuaron makes one of the most triumphant returns in recent memory, and it was certainly worth the wait. His ambition for new cinematic technology illuminates every shot of the film. He's committed to providing a new experience to moviegoers with his visuals every bit as much as he is to making sure we connect with the characters on an emotional level, to make sure that we become as tethered to them as they are to each other in the film. Cuaron has made this into more than simply a movie; he fashioned something that begs to be seen.
He's always sure to astound, similar to when he made "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," which is one of the best Harry Potter films, and the dystopian thriller, "Children of Men." Now that he has made "Gravity," Cuaron exemplifies that the future possibilities for filmmaking can be as infinite as space itself.
Final grade: A-
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
A Desire to Win and a Need for Speed
On the topic of car racing in movies, it's evident that the Fast and Furious series has dominated that subject. Unfortunately, the increasingly over-the-top ridiculousness of the events in those films have forced any semblance of a plot to be forced into the trunk as the stunts run the gamut from fun to insanely dumb.
This is why director Ron Howard's racing drama, Rush, comes at a perfect time for viewers who have acquired fatigue from the F&F sequels. Howard brings the true events surrounding famed Formula One drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) for a film that has just as much happening off the track as it does on it. Not only are there the bracing thrills of the racing sequences, but the clash of the two wildly different personalities, which is just as high-octane.
In the 1970s, James Hunt and Niki Lauda have established an intense rivalry upon meeting and competing in a Formula Three race. Hunt is arrogant and carefree, and Niki is a man of strict discipline, but both are fierce and talented drivers. Soon, these contrasts will bring their competitiveness even deeper. Later on, the two make their way into Formula One. As each race passes during the 1976 F1 season, the need to win becomes stronger, and the two drivers will do whatever they can to prove who's better.
What make the relationship between Hunt and Lauda strikingly potent are the differences that influence their personalities to clash. Chris Hemsworth expertly brings two distinct sides to his character. There is the '70s-party-boy attitude he displays as he revels in the lifestyle of a rock star when not racing, something that is immediately noticeable when he first appears at one of his races, courted by groupies.
When Hunt gets ready to drive, however, he shifts to absolute focus when he hits the track. Despite his foray with booze, drugs and women, Hemsworth truly makes the viewer believe his character is serious about his profession in the scenes where he's trying to secure a successful run for his racing team.
There is one line of dialogue in particular, said by Hunt, that fully summarizes his character: "The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It's a wonderful way to live. It's the only way to drive." He likes to live on the edge, rarely thinking of the consequences, which also reverts back to his partying ways. There is also one subtle thing that Hunt does that symbolizes this quote. A few times throughout the film, Hunt holds onto a gold lighter that he flicks on and off. He lives dangerously; he's playing with fire, the gold color of the lighter emphasizing his desire to place first.
Daniel Bruhl, on the other hand, portrays Lauda as a driver who has a more by-the-books approach to the sport. His character, a rather pompous individual, is more responsible than Hunt, and Bruhl gives this character an air of someone who thinks he's better than others because of his upbringing; he's always talking down to Hunt and his partying ways. He's deadly serious about his profession, but is easily quick-witted.
The racing scenes, thrillingly photographed by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, offer a genuine cinematic stimulus. Some parts of these sequences come in the form of point-of-view shots from inside the car, truly putting the viewer in the driver's seat and delivering on the rush that the title promises.
The screenplay by Peter Morgan is equally invested in Hunt and Lauda's on-track rivalry and their personal lives. Besides the racing, it's beneficial for the narrative to show what the two experience off the track because it helps to display any anger or uncertainty they feel when something doesn't end up in their favor, and the viewer sees how the characters apply those emotions to heat up their desire to win.
Morgan supplies the same amount of material to both Hemsworth and Bruhl, never making one of them a primary character and one a secondary; they both matter to the same degree. This is rather similar to when Morgan and Howard teamed up for the latter's 2008 film, Frost/Nixon, another story that focused greatly on the interactions between two opposing characters.
Director Howard, as with some of his other films, such as Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, spawns informative and insightful stories on notable, worldly figures. He specializes in his strong focus on characters and their extended interactions with others, and this helps the viewer in getting to know these individuals and their impact on their areas of expertise. With Rush, he continues this method of storytelling, and the way he handles the drama between the two leads makes the Grand Prix races all the more dynamic and rewarding when the film gets to them. Buckle up.
Final grade: A
In the 1970s, James Hunt and Niki Lauda have established an intense rivalry upon meeting and competing in a Formula Three race. Hunt is arrogant and carefree, and Niki is a man of strict discipline, but both are fierce and talented drivers. Soon, these contrasts will bring their competitiveness even deeper. Later on, the two make their way into Formula One. As each race passes during the 1976 F1 season, the need to win becomes stronger, and the two drivers will do whatever they can to prove who's better.
What make the relationship between Hunt and Lauda strikingly potent are the differences that influence their personalities to clash. Chris Hemsworth expertly brings two distinct sides to his character. There is the '70s-party-boy attitude he displays as he revels in the lifestyle of a rock star when not racing, something that is immediately noticeable when he first appears at one of his races, courted by groupies.
When Hunt gets ready to drive, however, he shifts to absolute focus when he hits the track. Despite his foray with booze, drugs and women, Hemsworth truly makes the viewer believe his character is serious about his profession in the scenes where he's trying to secure a successful run for his racing team.
There is one line of dialogue in particular, said by Hunt, that fully summarizes his character: "The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It's a wonderful way to live. It's the only way to drive." He likes to live on the edge, rarely thinking of the consequences, which also reverts back to his partying ways. There is also one subtle thing that Hunt does that symbolizes this quote. A few times throughout the film, Hunt holds onto a gold lighter that he flicks on and off. He lives dangerously; he's playing with fire, the gold color of the lighter emphasizing his desire to place first.
Daniel Bruhl, on the other hand, portrays Lauda as a driver who has a more by-the-books approach to the sport. His character, a rather pompous individual, is more responsible than Hunt, and Bruhl gives this character an air of someone who thinks he's better than others because of his upbringing; he's always talking down to Hunt and his partying ways. He's deadly serious about his profession, but is easily quick-witted.
The racing scenes, thrillingly photographed by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, offer a genuine cinematic stimulus. Some parts of these sequences come in the form of point-of-view shots from inside the car, truly putting the viewer in the driver's seat and delivering on the rush that the title promises.
The screenplay by Peter Morgan is equally invested in Hunt and Lauda's on-track rivalry and their personal lives. Besides the racing, it's beneficial for the narrative to show what the two experience off the track because it helps to display any anger or uncertainty they feel when something doesn't end up in their favor, and the viewer sees how the characters apply those emotions to heat up their desire to win.
Morgan supplies the same amount of material to both Hemsworth and Bruhl, never making one of them a primary character and one a secondary; they both matter to the same degree. This is rather similar to when Morgan and Howard teamed up for the latter's 2008 film, Frost/Nixon, another story that focused greatly on the interactions between two opposing characters.
Director Howard, as with some of his other films, such as Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13, spawns informative and insightful stories on notable, worldly figures. He specializes in his strong focus on characters and their extended interactions with others, and this helps the viewer in getting to know these individuals and their impact on their areas of expertise. With Rush, he continues this method of storytelling, and the way he handles the drama between the two leads makes the Grand Prix races all the more dynamic and rewarding when the film gets to them. Buckle up.
Final grade: A
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