127 Hours

James Franco is Aron Ralston, an eccentric and slightly cocky rock climber, who finds himself trapped and completely alone with a minimum of supplies, as his arm is crushed underneath a boulder in a large crevasse in the Canyonlands National Park of Utah, in 127 Hours the new film directed by Danny Boyle, with a screenplay by Danny Beaufoy and Danny Boyle, based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston, based on the author’s real experience.

Despite the fact that this film completely centers around its protagonist, it doesn’t really feel like a “biopic” so I’ve been rejecting that term when discussing this film. The truth is that 127 Hours is a Ronseal deal, it’s basis and setting are very linear and there are many of us going to see this film (myself included) who already know the film’s conclusion, due to the fact that it’s based on a true story. However, this is not a movie that relies on twists, turns and plot devices but rather it is an experience for the sense… and a very good one.

There is still good drama in this film which is provided mostly by Franco as he gives an excellent performance of a man struggling for both physical and mental survival. The visual style is very grand and charismatic with a surprising variety of shots, considering they’re mostly of the rocky Canyonlands National Park and Aron Ralston’s hallucinations, dream sequences and flashbacks.

The truth is it is very hard to give a deep analysis of 127 Hours considering it is a simple ninety minutes (approx.) but fortunately that is a real solid hour and a half. It’s been a long time since I was so unified with the audience while in the cinema and even though there’s no complex narrative, the film never drags along and delivers a satisfying conclusion. That said, like many Danny Boyle movies, certain elements do diffuse in the final minutes, but this doesn’t debilitate the film.

There are also some unnecessarily stylish and often macro close-up shots, however these never distract from what’s important and the engaging atmosphere of this two-dimensional movie truly defies any experience I have had watching a 3D film. It almost makes me wonder if the choice to give this film a numeric title was some kind of strategic decision to avoid any kind of retro-fitting (in other words, who would go see 127 Hours-3D?). The numeric title does bring up one other weakness in the film and that is, along with the common knowledge of the true story on which the film is based, the name 127 Hours does dilute the tension and leaves the audience with little to guess, hence its being very good a dramatic experience for the sense.

In the end, 127 Hours is an immersive and wholly entertaining film. It’s not going to grip you like other tense films but it’s still a really nice and neat picture show, if you will and is definitely a worthwhile cinema visit, or future rental (with the lights off and the volume up).

4 out of 5

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