Based on a true story, 127 Hours is an unflinching and sometimes graphic depiction of one man's battle for survival.
Danny Boyle – director of films like Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, and zombie hit 28 Days Later doesn't hesitate to get right inside the story of 127 Hours, showing pretty much all of it in its gory glory.
Fundamentally, 127 Hours is about people's capacity – and will – to survive against terrible odds.
In April 2003, on an ordinary Saturday, Aron Ralston went canyoning in Utah.
His weekend starts out well, with lots of bounding over very large rocks and mountainbiking over the kind of slopes that most people would hesitate to approach. He even meets – and flirts with – a couple of pretty girls.
Aron's weekend, however, takes a turn for the worse when he falls down a deep crevice, and his right arm becomes pinned between the wall of the canyon and a large, heavy rock.
It's no spoiler to say that Aron Ralston – after five days – cuts off his right arm in order to escape. What's fascinating here is how Boyle takes this story of one man who's basically stuck in one place for several days and turns it into something moving, tense and dynamic.
James Franco is on-screen nearly the whole time, and although there is something about him that irritates me, he does a good job and carries the film pretty well.
Boyle lets nature do the rest of the talking, and we're treated to sweeping skies and sunsets, thundering rainstorms and the absolute best and worst that nature can do.
It's a clever, and visually arresting, way to move the film along, keeping everything interesting enough that you never feel restless or bored.
I felt quite tense a few times, especially during the pivotal scene. Truth be told, I closed my eyes because I knew that Boyle would not only not flinch, he'd treat the audience to close-ups of just how Aron severed his own arm with a small, blunt knife to escape the canyon. So be warned, if you're of a delicate disposition.
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