What I Learned From "Gravity"

Warner Bros. Pictures

This director hasn't disappointed me yet, and I doubt if he can. I guess that means I was sure to enjoy this (biased). Ex: I was giddy over the signature long takes and use of mirror reflection just for being there, sort of like finding the toy in the cereal box. The zero gravity stuff terrified me like I thought it would (thank goodness I didn't see it in 3D in the theater).

But what's really crazy is that it convinced me -- someone who gets anxiety on the freeway or in a plain old crowded hallway -- to untether, relax, and let come what may. The death and rebirth imagery was so so cool (like the fetus shot above). Really. How does a special effects action film make you want to fight to live but also accept your inevitable death? I don't know, but this one does.

So, what I learned from Gravity:

1. To await Alfonso Cuarón's next film with eagerness.
2. That I have much more control over the internal than the external, and conceding this is the key to living long and dying happy.
3. Faith in the hereafter and reunion with lost loved ones helps.
4. That it's never too late to start over -- like Sandra Bullock's character, to be reborn and learn to walk all over again.
5. That an original story with a female lead can be successful both financially and critically. I see a Venn diagram forming....

Updated 3/31/14