OK, eventually I bought the DVD of Gravity. I resisted for a long time as I did not want to diminish the original experience of seeing this film on a large cinema screen by recreating it on my 42" TV. But I was wrong. When I did see it on my own TV I realised that this movie is as much about inner space as outer space. The spectacular special effects achieved in the making of the film rather obscured this aspect when I first saw it.
The visual recreation of simply being in space in a way never achieved before in the cinema - or in actual space flight reportage - blew me away, and although I was aware of the narrative themes of struggle and rebirth, the discover of hope in the most hopeless situation, and the depth of human resourcefulness when push comes to deadly shove, I confess that the medium overpowered the message. Seeing it on a domestic scale revealed its humanity.
But let us not underestimate the remarkable inventiveness, persistence and creative genius that created what we saw on the big screen. I am glad to report that the technical teams that pioneered these techniques were British. The risks the Producers, Director and production team took were immense, and it was not clear until very late in the four years it took to put the various elements together that it was actually going to work. The DVD extras showing how this movie was actually made are a revelation. They alone are enough to justify buying the DVD.
But seeing the conditions in which Sandy Bullock and George Clooney had to work during this shoot also adds to our understanding of their achievement. This was so far removed from simple Green Screen work that it demanded deep commitment, intelligence and concentration for extended periods of time. Bullock's work was especially remarkable, with the physical demands she had to meet. I will not reveal the details; please watch it yourself.
But Gravity started with a story. A very human story. It is a story that happens to take place in space. It could be happening right above our heads at this moment. This is not futuristic science fiction. It is about as close to present day science fact as the Director could make it. But the genre is secondary to the story, to the deeply human story. It is not a complex story, and it may not be profound, but not all stories have to be complex or profound. For some of us Hemingway's most powerful novel is his shortest and simplest, The Old Man and the Sea. This story is relevant and rings true. It is also life affirming, and at the end of the day - or the end of movie - that is a quality most dear to me. Not the typical and cynical Hollywood 'feel good factor' but more like the feeling we sometimes find in D H Lawrence's poetry, that 'we have come through', and our humanity has not been diminished by the trials and sacrifices we have witnessed but has somehow been deepened.
