Gravity's opening shot would be the centrepiece of any other space film. A glowing corner of Earth fills the left-hand side of the screen while a solitary dot floats in the blackness beyond. Is it a star? Some kind of space debris? Either way, it's distant, like everything else. It takes minutes for it to become discernible, welcome minutes that give you time to drink in the view and nudge the person next to you to make sure they're as in awe as you are. There is silence except for the faint crackle of voices over a radio then some vaguely audible country and western beaming out of George Clooney's space suit, completely at odds with the stillness.
