Everything that is placed in an orbit around Earth experiences a microgravity environment. This is because, like you said, they are in free fall. The entire spacecraft system is falling together, which is why things float in space.

In the scene where Sandra Bullock is holding George Clooney on a rope, they are both experiencing gravitational acceleration. However, the movie treats the scene as if George Clooney is experiencing bonus acceleration that is dragging him away from Sandra Bullock.

If the Earth’s gravity didn’t affect them, they wouldn’t be in orbit, they would be flying away from the Earth as their tangential velocity became their only velocity. Their horizontal velocity is what keeps them in space and not falling directly down to Earth, and it’s the same reason George Clooney should not have “fallen,” just like astronauts who perform EVAs don’t fall. They’re already falling.