This movie is another film by Danny Boyle, acclaimed director behind such films as 28 Days Later, Trainspotting, Sunshine and Slumdog Millionaire. If you have seen any of these movies you know that Boyle has a distinct visual style, especially when things start to get real intense (quick cuts, weird music, weirder camera angles), his visual style is abundant throughout this film, particularly whenever Aaron's situation seems rather dire. Mr. Ralston is played by James Franco, and played by him rather well if i do say so myself.
Franco does a phenomenal job of being Aaron Ralston, the one scene that totally sold me happened very early on (when his hand got stuck) the reaction of Franco when his hand is stuck is probably the most human reaction i have seen in a movie in a very long time. It starts of with him staring with disbelief at his predicament, that leads to Ralston starting to panic and trying to dislodge the rock, that eventually leads to defeat, all in the case of about five minutes. These five minutes were some of my favourite in the film because of how human Franco portrays the reaction, he had a reaction that i feel many people would have if they found themselves in this situation, its a great human moment in this film.
Now while Danny Boyle and James Franco both do fantastic jobs of taking you through this journey i do not think that this is the transcendent experience that many critics were saying it would be. Don't get me wrong, this movie is a perfect length at 1.5 hours, and i was entertained the entire time but I do not think that this movie was better than Buried (for example, I also reviewed this movie last week) which was a very similar film in the sense that it was a one-man show about a person in a ridiculously extreme situation. Buried was great because it was essentially a thriller with Ryan Reynolds face as the focal point, but more importantly you did not know what was going to happen. I knew what this movie was eventually going to come to (if you remember this story from 2003 than you know what I am referring to) and that knowledge did two things, 1) it created a good amount of suspense; but at the same time 2) it made me sick to my stomach, knowing what Ralston was eventually going to do and what was going to come up on the screen.
The first half-hour before he gets trapped by the boulder is extremely well-done, showing the kind of person Ralston is but also keeping you on edge because you have the knowledge that soon he will be trapped, the "how" caused me much suspense and had me completely reeled-in. Once the incident happened and he was actually trapped the rest of the movie had me wondering, when is he going to do it? It was great for adding suspense but at the same time knowing what was going to happen left me with a pit in my stomach, because it is one of the single most intense acts committed by a real person i think.
The last 20 minutes of the flick is a deranged odyssey and look into Ralston's starved and thirsty mind and shows how close he was to going crazy in his stone prison. Than the moment happens, the moment that the entire flick has been leading up to. The scene in which this takes place is approximately 5 minutes or so but it was one very disgusting, completely fucked-up scene, one which i do not think i will ever watch again, but one that was necessary for the plot (obviously, considering the stories source). After this moment (which i will not recite for those who do not remember the story) the last few minutes of the film are incredibly cathartic. Those last few minutes are very essential to the plot of the film because without it that movie would have ended on an overtly intense tone, one that would have worked with the movie but would not have been as great as the actual ending.
The last few minutes are a perfect way to end the story, it shows hope for Ralston while at the same time serving as a caution for up and coming mountain climbers. Ralston will be forever reminded of his experience in Utah and the ending of the film reflects this, even showing Ralston today with his family, which was a brilliant touch in my opinion. That being said, the last half-hour of 127 Hours made me feel exhausted and sick to my stomach at the same time, not in a necessarily bad way either, it was just incredibly intense and sickening at times. The ending, as with the rest of the film, is very well-done, with an exceptional performance by James Franco and with some absolutely gorgeous shots by Danny Boyle, but that doesn't stop it from leaving me a little shaken and disturbed.
127 Hours is a very good movie. The story is very powerful and meaningful and could teach some people a thing or two about being an adventurer as well as being a good person to those who mean the most to you! This is another great film by Danny Boyle, a great performance by James Franco and all-in-all a very good movie. Be warned though, it is not for the faint of heart, the last 30 minutes is not meant to be light, it is meant to be very intense, and it delivers, sometimes i felt it was too intense however!!! Either way this is a very good movie in a year of good movie and should not be tossed aside by people, if you are interested in the story and like Danny Boyle's previous work, see this movie, but never forget that it may leave you very shaken once the film has concluded!
This film deserves 4 Aaron Ralston, small mustache + goatee combo beards out of 5!
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