Finally the BFI London Film Festival is here. I was
successful in my ticket ballot application to attend the Opening Night Gala of
Captain Philips but unfortunately I had to work so I couldn’t attend. The movie
is released next week nationwide so I’ll catch it then. This is my second year
attending the festival, last year I managed to see The Sessions, Seven
Psychopaths, End of Watch and eventual Best Picture winner Argo. This year I’ve
gone one better and I’m seeing eleven film premieres over the next eight days.
So if you want to follow all the London Film Festival coverage then feel free
to check back here over the next eight days, I’ll have it all covered. As I
mentioned last year I was lucky enough to attend the premiere of eventual Best
Picture winner Argo, could history repeat itself? We’ll have to wait and see.
So last night I attended the premiere of Alfonso Cuaron’s highly anticipated Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. To access the venue on these events, you have to walk down the red carpet with the stars, which is a pretty cool experience. I didn’t manage to see Sandra Bullock or Alfonso Cuaron unlike last year where I literally walked right next to Ben Affleck and
It’s an extraordinary technique that takes a lot of pre-preparation, with the actors having to remember every movement along with dialogue because there are no cuts. It makes the action feel real because the scene flows as if you were really there. Anyway that example was only four minutes long, which is a rare single shot in itself. The opening single shot of Gravity lasted anywhere between twelve and seventeen minutes long. Truly fascinating stuff. We are introduced to Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski played by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney respectively, who are the only two actors in the entire movie. Dr. Ryan Stone is a Bio-medical engineer and Mission Specialist on her first space shuttle mission while Matt Kowalski is a veteran astronaut who is commanding his final expedition. The interaction between Stone and Kowalski are great with Bullock and Clooney cast perfectly. Kowalski is the macho, confident and outgoing while Stone is nervous, insecure and would rather be by herself. The script itself is actually quite witty during Kowalski and Stone’s interaction helping to bring some light hearted moments to an overall tense ride. After the brief introduction to the mission and allowing the audience time to familiarise themselves with the space surroundings, disaster strikes when high-speed debris from a Russian missile strike damages the shuttle creating a chain reaction of destruction including losing all communication from Mission Control on Earth and separating Stone and Kowalski with Stone only having a small amount of oxygen left in her tank to survive. The audience follow Dr. Ryan Stone from this point, in which you truly feel like you apart of this journey with her. You feel trapped and alone yourself due to the masterful direction from Alfonso Cuaron. This may sound boring to some regular moviegoers but I assure you it isn’t. Don’t expect huge action sequences and things blowing up because Gravity has created a realistic portray of being in space alone. Cuaron has created enough tension during some sequences to keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a very difficult task to perform alone on screen for long durations; James Franco did a fantastic job in 127 Hours a few years back but Sandra Bullock really demonstrated the intensity of her character’s situation. Whether it was the immediate panic, the fear of being alone, the acceptance of death or the determination to survive, she portrayed them all beautifully. Cuaron created a heartfelt back story for the character too, which really highlights the insecure nature of Bullock’s character, which only makes the audience more attached to her. Sandra Bullock has some real stand out moments throughout the film, while a lot of her role is very physically demanding; she also has some emotion dialogue that could really seal a second Oscar for her.
The film is technically breath taking; I’ve already
mentioned the outstanding visual effects along with the stunning cinematography
but sound also plays a huge part in the movie. Some moments are pure silence,
because there is no sound in space and you can just sit back and admire the
beauty of the cinematography. Steven Price’s Original Score beautifully plays
in synch with certain heartfelt or intense moments throughout the film which
really help draw the audience in further. Like I mentioned previous this isn’t
your usual movie viewing, it feels more like a stimulation experience and once
the credits roll, you’ll be thankful you’ve been on solid ground the entire
time. Do yourself a favour and see this movie, I promise it’s worth it. I don’t
really want to spoil too much for you.
So how do I think Gravity will do with the Academy? Well the
film has already received universal acclaim and has scored 96 out of 100 on
Metacritic based on reviews making it one of the highest rated films ever.
Gravity and Twelve Years a Slave seem to be the two early front-runners for
Best Picture but the Oscar ceremony is still five months away, so a lot could
happen between now and then. If Gravity won Best Picture it would not only be
the first Sci-Fi movie to win but also the first 3D movie along with the fewest
cast members. I’m certain the film will be nominated for Best Picture, along
with Best Director, Best Leading Actress, Best Original Screenplay along with a
bunch of tech awards including Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best
Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Original Score leading
to a potential total of ten nominations but how many of these awards could
Gravity win? Only time will tell. But if anything we know one thing for
certain; Gravity has helped to restore our faith in cinema.
Oscar Potential
Best Picture
Best Director, Alfonso CuaronBest Actress in a Leading Role, Sandra Bullock
Best Original Screenplay
Best Original Score
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Visual Effects
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
.
I want to see it Mathew!!!!!!
ReplyDelete