Discussion Questions for “Gravity”

Discussion Questions for “Gravity”
How does the film start? How does it end?
When and where does the story take place?
What does the film’s title refer to in both literal and thematic terms?
What is the film about, literally and on a thematic level?
Did you notice any examples of subjective and/or objective camera shots? Where? How did that choice of shot affect the way the audience experiences the film?
What is the protagonist’s external problem which forms the story spine?
What is the protagonist’s internal psychological need which forms the character arc?
How did the long takes and mobile framing Cuaron and his D.P. Lubezki used relate the characters to their world?
Did the screenwriters use restricted or unrestricted narrative to tell the story? What does that choice do for the way the audience experiences the story?
Why doesn’t Cuaron and his editor cut the opening scene faster?
How did Cuaron use mise-en-scene, especially in the long take at the beginning?
One of the film’s key motifs is birth and rebirth. How did Cuaron use staging and the set to bring that out?
Another is the use of religious motifs. How did Cuaron use staging and the mise-en-scene to bring that out?