127 Hours Review

You know you've got a tough job ahead of you when the main nemesis in your film's plot is a piece of rock. So credit is massively due to director/writer Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire/ Trainspotting), and actor James Franco (Pineapple Express/Spiderman). Both manage to concoct an intriguing and dramatic film behind and in front of the camera; based on the book by Aron Ralston, it revolves around his real life experience of becoming trapped in a canyon in the expansive mountainous plains of Utah.

127 Hours is an interesting film to witness, with the majority of the running time dedicated to James Franco's portrayal of self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie Aron Ralston and his time within the secluded and isolated world of the canyon prison. Although the narrative hits all the regular beats of appreciating family, making the most of your love life and never taking anything for granted, it approaches the themes in an entertainingly fun and unique way, giving us surrealistic flashbacks through Aron's life as dehydration sets in and hallucinations begin to border in on his psyche. In this sense you could argue that the film does not take place solely in this canyon but in the mind of Aron as he accepts the fact that death is imminent and his imagination begins to take over. Even Scooby-Doo makes a guest appearance.

As most of you will know, Ralston escapes eventually, at the tether of his sanity, his liberator being a cheap pen knife. This escape occurs during a sudden moment that pricks the screen violently; Ralston stabbing his arm after applying a tourniquet and continuing his self-mutilation by cracking the bones and finally hacking his forearm off (the limb that has caught him between the rock and the canyon wall). Aron stumbles out into the sunlight from his vacation in his personal hell, with the crack in the world that swallowed him up finally defeated. It is a triumphant moment that could have mistakenly been depicted as something miserably gloomy, with the protagonist having just chopped his own arm off. Instead it is just this, triumphant and liberating, Boyle not focusing upon the hideous nature of what is occurring. However, the process of the amputation is terrifically squeamish, the pain and the sound effects almost jittering the pain of his situation through into the audience's teeth as nerves are hit and blood is split.

James Franco took on a huge responsibility when taking on this role and he gives a knock out performance. If it wasn't for Colin Firth's outstanding performance in The King's Speech, Franco would be a high contender for Best Actor during this year's award season. He dives between moments of humour and scenes of tragedy, the tipping of a few drops of water turning into moments of teary horror. Franco's Ralston comes across in equal measures of annoying selfishness and loveable yet tragic hero. If it wasn't for his ego and obsession with becoming 'Aron Ralston, Hard Hero Man', he would have informed a relative of his whereabouts. Instead he has opted for the mirage of untethered adventurer, ignoring family and friends and going about things his way. It is a tough personality to depict whilst trying to keep the audience rooting for Ralston, and Franco balances his performance perfectly.

Like all of his past efforts, Boyle's film is further improved by a tremendous soundtrack, teaming up with Slumdog Millionaire's composer A.R.Rahman once again and offering us pounding music to accompany the opening scenes of the film and Aron's pursuit of adventure. Boyle's camera work is quirky and fun also, littering the film with split screen effects and surreal hallucinations of blurriness.

The films only quibble would be near the end of Ralston's time in the canyon and the sometimes rather cheesy scenes involving his family all collected together around a sofa watching him as a heavenly light washes them in a glow. Franco's earlier shadowed speeches into his video camera saying thank you and sorry to his family are far more moving and desperate than the hallucinations, and their work is somewhat undone when the helpless gloomy atmosphere the film has acquired is disrupted by these over the top images.

127 Hours, sometimes beautiful, other times harrowing, is a wonderfully unique film showcasing brilliant filmmaking and a stand out performance, completely justifying its position within this award seasons' handful of films.

4/5