I want to preface this by saying that overrated does not necessarily mean the same thing as bad. Don't get me wrong. Gravity was a good film. A really good film. But was it the wonderfully stark and gorgeously filmed masterpiece of Alfonso Cuaron's career that a lot of people are making it out to be? No. It's not. The visuals are spectacular, but the script is perhaps the weak link of the film. The backstory of Sandra Bullock's character sometimes feels like a bit of an afterthought. I know that a lot of directors are worried about audiences connecting with their characters, especially when the story they're telling is so insular that your exposure to them is in this very specific moment of time, so Cuaron can probably be forgiven for panicking and trying to give her more of an emotional background for us to relate to. But the problem is, the more they develop her emotional baggage and particular neuroses, the more I start to think that there's absolutely no way NASA would have chosen this woman to endure the rigors of space. As I said before, this is a very strong film, and I enjoyed watching it. I just thinks that there's the merest possibility that it may have been overhyped. Please don't hurt me.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
