What a story this would make if it were really to happen. The viewer can’t help but think that while watching Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) as she undergoes one trying test after another after space debris interrupts a mission she is on. After the Russians strike one of their own satellites it leaves flying debris hurtling toward a group of three American astronauts including Dr. Stone. Before this moment Dr. Stone and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) were talking about the terrific view of space and how Stone loves the silence. The film takes time to develop the characters a bit as the viewer learns Stone is named Ryan because her father wanted a boy. She also reveals that she lost a daughter, who died at age four.
When Stone is barely hanging on in space to a cable she attempts to pull Kowalsky in after the debris has separated them but he knows they will probably both die if he doesn’t let go and he makes a fateful decision. Later, alone, Stone has to find a way to a nearby space station in order to have any hope for survival. She faces a fire in a ship, more flying debris and other perils in her quest to somehow, miraculously, make it back home to Earth. At one point she says aloud she wishes someone had taught her how to pray.
Despite the interesting story and amazing special effects, the movie contains a graphic scene of a man with a hole in his face and throughout his entire head, not to mention strong language so we are unable to award our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to “Gravity.”
