127 Hours (2010)
Rated R
Welcome back into the bowels of the earth, loyal readers, for an especially appropriate selection for this week’s review. 127 Hours is the disturbing true story of one man’s desperate struggle for survival brought to us by director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later). James Franco (Spider Man series, Flyboys) stars as the adventurous Aron Ralston, a young mountain climber who is full of self-confidence and vivacity for the natural world. One day, Aron decides to do a little adventuring alone in the canyons near Moab, Utah. Early on, he meets two women hiking through the canyons and offers to guide them through the canyons to one of his favorite spots. The trio have a wonderful time, and after a brief period of youthful recreation, Aron leaves the women to continue his solo adventure. Shortly thereafter, his story truly begins.
Aron decides to crawl into one of the canyons in the park, and during his decent into a crevasse, a small boulder gives way. Aron and the boulder tumble towards the chasm floor, and upon landing, the boulder wedges itself between the walls of the gorge. Unfortunately for Aron, his right arm is pinned beneath the boulder and the canyon wall, but he is otherwise relatively unscathed. Shock and pain quickly give way to anger and disbelief as Aron begins to take stock of his situation. Aron has access to his limited gear and supplies of food and water, but he has no way to communicate with the outside world, and in his arrogance, he has neglected to tell anyone where he was going.
What follows for the better part of five days is the intense reflection over his life, depicted through memories, dreams, hallucinations, and Aron’s home video of himself during his ordeal as he attempts to say goodbye to his family and friends. Aron clings to his will to survive as he considers his grim options. Pray for someone to find him, wait to die of starvation or exposure, or attempt to free himself in an almost impossible to imagine feat of self sacrifice and desperation.
Now, if you’re like me, before seeing this film and knowing vaguely the details of its premise, you’re thinking “How can they possibly make a guy stuck in a hole for a few days interesting enough to entertain me for a full 94 minutes”. Well, ladies and gentlemen, somehow Danny Boyle manages to do just that. Moreover, James Franco provides a magnificent one-man-show, essentially, by bringing every emotion and action to life in exquisite detail. Franco is able to transpose the real life drama to the audience though his facial expressions and fantastic thespian ability as he transitions from comedy and irony to desperation and panic, and ultimately the brutal lust for survival.
Then there’s “The Scene”. The dramatic climax to the film that actually had patrons fainting in the aisles at movie theaters. I have seen countless features that depict various acts of violence in far more graphic detail. I have seen eccentric psychopaths torture victims in unspeakable ways, or watched terrifying monsters disembowel their pray without remorse, and even seen tragic accidents with gruesome consequences on film, but I have never, ever, been quite as affected as I was watching the climactic struggle for survival during “The Scene”. It isn’t as graphic as I’m making it sound, but because the story is so well told, and because the audience is so immersed, and because we know that the events we are witnessing actually occurred, “The Scene” has an unparalleled impact that is rarely if ever felt watching a movie.
My mother always warned me to “never say never”, but in this case, I truly believe that a similar situation would never happen to me. One, I’m far too lazy to go out hiking alone in the wilderness, and two, I seriously doubt that I would have the ability to make the choice Aron Ralston made to save his own life. I can say with a fair amount of certainty that, in the same situation, they would have found my tubby ass picked clean by buzzards months after I had gone missing…
127 Hours boasts beautiful cinematography, with breathtaking vistas and interesting camera placement that makes even a lone trapped man in a pit remain interesting throughout. The film paces incredibly well, keeping the emotion and drama at a fever pitch throughout the 94 minute tale. Franco is able to deliver a solo performance that rivals the presentation of Tom Hanks in Cast Away, if not wholly surpasses it.
The bottom line is this: Even if you don’t enjoy 127 Hours as much as I did, I can guarantee it is one movie you will not soon forget. The story is far more than a mountain climber stuck in a ditch, it is a riveting tale of perseverance and survival, skillfully woven between the reflections and aspirations of a dynamic and remarkable young adventurer. Excellently written, superbly shot, and featuring a fantastic performance by James Franco, 127 Hours is a chilling reminder of how precious and fragile life is. And also how careful one must be when playing around in caves…
I might have to sleep outside in a field tonight…