This article discusses the death of a young child.
2013’s Gravity presents Sandra Bullock’s Dr. Ryan Stone with various challenges and potentially deadly scenarios as she tries to return to Earth after a disaster in orbit, but the debris she continually weathers represents something much deeper than just wayward satellite fragments. Gravity is widely regarded as one of Sandra Bullock’s best movies, and a big part of what makes it so revered is the layered narrative and beautiful subtlety in its storytelling. With George Clooney as Bullock’s only real co-star, Gravity‘s tiny cast is still brilliantly led by the iconic Hollywood actress.
For all the praise the movie has received since its release, Gravity has still been criticized for its scientific inaccuracies. That being said, it’s still more grounded than many other sci-fi movies that lean far more into the genre’s tropes. It also separates itself from many of the other best movies about space exploration by never leaving Earth’s orbit, and while this may sound limiting, it allows the story to focus much more on Bullock’s character and the perils she faces as she makes her way back to the planet’s surface.
The Satellite Debris In Gravity Represents The Adversity Faced By Dr. Ryan Stone
Sandra Bullock is trying to carry on through the grief caused by the loss of her child
Other than her scientific background, very little is known about Dr. Ryan Stone in Gravity. However, it is at least established that she is something of a loner, but mainly because of the heartbreaking loss of her four-year-old daughter in a playground accident. The implication throughout the movie is that Bullock’s character has dealt with the death of her little girl by burying herself in her work and cutting herself off from many forms of social interaction. Although her field allows her to double down on this decision by heading to space, she can’t escape her turmoil.
In short, they’re a physical manifestation of the emotional battles Dr. Stone has been fighting since the loss of her daughter.
The threat posed to Dr. Stone in the movie’s opening scene would be at home in many sci-fi movies, but the rogue pieces of satellite rushing at her in the vacuum of space take on new meaning when it’s considered what they represent to Sandra Bullock’s character. In short, they’re a physical manifestation of the emotional battles Dr. Stone has been fighting since the loss of her daughter. While this could be interpreted as a little on-the-nose, setting the story in outer space hides the symbology much better.
What Gravity Really Is About (It’s Not Just A Sci-Fi Movie)
The 2013 space epic communicates the importance of perseverance in impossible-sounding situations
Certain microscopic lifeforms aside, nothing can survive in space. It’s a vast and empty wasteland that indiscriminately punishes and cuts down anyone who makes a mistake while traversing the inky void. The dark lifelessness of the movie’s setting is a brilliant representation of Dr. Stone’s headspace. She has cut herself out of society other than for the roles that can keep her grieving mind occupied, but she is thrust into survival mode when the satellite disaster strikes.
Gravity‘s lack of focus on many prominent sci-fi tropes supports the argument that the movie’s genre is simply a vehicle for the story it’s trying to tell.
Given Dr. Stone’s situation, it’s impossible to ignore the artful parallel of her return to the surface of a vibrant planet as anything other than a visual representation of her growing around her pain and moving toward the idea of being ready to return to some form of life that doesn’t entirely revolve around her work and her research. Of course, this character development is also kickstarted by her unexpected (yet brief) bond with George Clooney’s Commander Matt Kowalski – who could easily be the first person in a long time around whom Dr. Stone had let her guard down.
Gravity’s Ending Gave The Movie An Uplifting Message After Dr. Stone’s Journey
Sandra Bullock’s character isn’t given a happy ending, but something more realistic
Gravity‘s relentless pacing is enough to make anyone anxious, but what Dr. Stone’s journey stands for is more sad than it is exciting – although, even on the surface, it’s both. However, after ninety minutes of close calls and flirtations with surrender, Bullock’s character reaching the safety of Earth’s surface is a stand-in for coming out the other side of her period of mourning. This can, in turn, be traded out for anyone’s personal battles, and sends the message that although things may seem dire, there is always a chance of making it through.
On the other hand, the story’s final moments aren’t necessarily what one would expect from a Hollywood movie. Certain scripts may have had a character in Dr. Stone’s position land in the heart of her homeland and be immediately surrounded by those clamoring to rescue her and celebrate her return. In a movie like Gravity, such a scene would feel very out of place and go against the narrative’s cryptic themes.
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Giving Bullock’s character a textbook happy ending would go against the message of how much work someone has to do to heal from trauma. Although she has gone through a lot to get back to Earth, the movie’s events are only representative of the start of her larger emotional journey. Having her wash up on an unknown shore with a grateful state of mind ends Gravity with the much more reasonable implication that Dr. Stone is on the right track but still has some work to do.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi thriller Gravity tells the story of Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) after they end up stranded in space after the destruction of their shuttle. Faced with near-impossible odds of survival, the pair plan to get themselves safely back to Earth despite the relentlessly harsh reality of space threatening to claim their lives at any moment.
- Release Date
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October 3, 2013
- Runtime
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1h 31m
- Cast
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Sandra Bullock
, George Clooney
, Ed Harris
, Orto Ignatiussen
, Paul Sharma
, Amy Warren - Director
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Alfonso Cuarón
- Studio(s)
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Warner Bros. Pictures