Leigh Paatsch reviews Gravity

AT once a stunning work of science fiction and a truly heartfelt work of human drama, Gravity casts a powerful spell that cannot be broken.

GRAVITY [M]

Rating: 5/5

Director: Alfonso Cuaron (Children Of Men)

Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and the voice of Ed Harris

This one goes out to anyone and everyone who still believes in the magic of movies.

At once a stunning work of science fiction and a truly heartfelt work of human drama, Gravity casts a powerful spell that cannot and will not be broken.

It could well be the best thing you lay eyes on this year.

The film opens with a genuinely amazing single shot which runs just over 13 minutes.

The camera is floating alongside the US space shuttle Explorer, where three crew members are on a brief space walk to perform some running repairs.

Soon, that number will come down to two. Elsewhere in the same orbit, 600km above the surface of theearth, a devastating chain reaction is knocking out most of the planet's satellite systems.

The Russians started it by mysteriously destroying one of their own satellites. The resulting debris from the explosion is now hurtling out of control, obliterating everything in its path.

Mission Control in Houston (represented by the voice of Ed Harris) orders the American astronauts to immediately abort their mission, and make tracks as quickly as they can back to base.

However, there is not enough time to avert disaster. The space junk steamrolls Explorer in a matter of minutes, killing all aboard except veteran pilot Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) and a medical engineer on her maiden voyage, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock).

Only one thing saved the lives of the pair: they were unable to re-enter the shuttle in time. Optimists would call this a stroke of luck. Realists would call it a stay of execution.

Captain Matt Kowalsky and Dr Ryan Stone are now drifting alone in space.

All communications are down. Oxygen supplies are running out. The deadly debris that left such a terrible trail of destruction will be returning again in a few hours.

It would be unfair to delve any further into the gripping adventure tale so expertly laid out by Gravity.

The film's most crucial asset is how it trades off what we know of conditions in space against what we do not know.

The tension achieved by simply delivering or withholding information at key moments becomes unbelievably powerful at times.

The performances of Clooney and Bullock are magnificent. Again, it would be unfair to be too specific about how they achieve such a level
of excellence.

Let's just say they strongly convey the full weight of a heavy situation with great conviction and credible emotions at all times.

The visuals on displayin Gravity are truly game-changing in nature.

Director Alfonso Cuaron (who also co-wrote the script with his son Jonas) pushed his DOP and effects team to continually experiment with perspective and camera placement throughout production.

The end result is nothing short of spectacular.

Every frame of Gravity is a supremely sublime combination of the you-are-there and the how-did-they-do-that? completely immersing
the audience in both the wonder of space, and the wonder of cinema.