Calling all Boppers. We got some futuristic gangland fun going on right outside of Paris in The Gravity (La gravite). Cedric Ido directs the sci-fi ghetto drama from a script co-written with Melisa Godet and Jeanne Aptekman. It opens with horrifying images of two little boys falling from a tower, with two other little boys seeing them land. One of them takes off running. Decades later, Daniel (Max Gomis) is still running but for a professional competition this time. His coach (Thierry Godard) thinks Daniel can get out of the projects with his athleticism.
However, Daniel secretly plans to emigrate to Canada with his wife, Sabrina (Hafsia Herzi). His brother Joshua (Steve Tientcheau), who is stuck in a wheelchair, has no idea Daniel is going to flee either, as he relies on him to run drugs up the stairs to his customers. While making deliveries, they are cornered by a group of young people dressed in blue jackets with red hair dye. These are the Ronin, a group of young teenagers who are taking over the drug trade in the projects. The Ronin warns Joshua that he is out of the dope game and allows Daniel to roll him away without incident.
Meanwhile, former friend Christophe (Jean-Baptiste Anoumon) arrives back after serving three years in prison after the Ronin doubled-crossed him on a drug deal. He hunts up fellow old-school hood rat Jovic (Olivier Rosemberg) to get more information on the Ronin as he feels he is owed. Meanwhile, all the planets are about to align with each other in what is expected to be a seismic event across the planet.
“The Ronin warns Joshua that he is out of the dope game…”
Like the gravitational pull repeatedly touched upon, putting sci-fi into a story comes with expectations of total saturation. The core audience doesn’t want a teaspoon of speculative sparkle. They want a tablespoon galaxy that spans millions of light years. That is not what we get in The Gravity. Instead, Ido uses sci-fi in a metaphoric way to illustrate the marginalization of publicly housed citizens.
First and foremost, this is a drama. Aside from the references to the upcoming planetary alignment and a smidgen of CGI in the first act, there is nothing futuristic or genre-like in the first hour. Yes, it is an involving drug story with an edge, but it is planted firmly in what is now instead of what might be. On top of this, we are given a color palette of pale greens and grays to make do with instead of the colors of tomorrow. I appreciate the restraint from going costume crazy, which could easily cause fatal cheese poisoning. However, the first two acts could use more sci-fi seasoning to balance with the rest of the picture.
In the third act, The Gravity lets the sci-fi flag fly with some genuine genre payoffs. The hair on my arms was standing up and breakdancing at least three times. All the space moves seem organic and work to extend the thematic nuances of how hard it is to escape the hood. Another question is whether the third act will be enough to sate the fanboy appetite for all things laser. I found the commentary on generational differences very interesting. The gangs have everyone working in synchronicity for the greater good. The old-school generation is all in it for themselves, with everyone out to screw over everyone. Of course, one group’s greater good is, most of the time, the suppression or elimination of another, so it’s complicated.
What isn’t up for discussion is how wonderful the musical score by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine is. This is how soundtracks should sound: electronic, creamy, and thoughtful, instead of an orchestra bus flying off a bridge. The Gravity (La gravite) can be a grim affair until launch is achieved. At that point, you have a rather remarkable feature that pulls you off the pavement.
"…a rather remarkable feature that pulls you off the pavement."
