127 Hours (2011, Danny Boyle)
The film I rated in my three month preview from December as my most anticipated upcoming flick, helmed by one of my favourite directors; Oscar winner Danny Boyle. The man employed to oversee the London 2012 opening ceremony and brains behind Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later and Slumdog Millionaire. It had a lot to live up to......and it didn’t, not quite. But! And this is a big but; it is still a great movie and an astonishing achievement when you consider the subject matter. How enthralling can a 90 minute film about a guy who gets stuck between a rock and hard place (in every sense of the phrase) for the best part of a week really be? This is the question I asked myself upon originally hearing of Boyle’s next film and was the gauntlet I threw down to Boyle in my mind for the months I waited in patient anticipation prior to the film’s release. I figured that being the visionary director he is there would be all sorts of creative jiggery that would allow for the film to jump between various locals without the entrapped Aron Ralston (James Franco) ever actually leaving his potential tomb. Once the trailer eventually landed my expectations rose further as my assumptions were confirmed.
This in hindsight is what ultimately has lead me to feel 127 Hours was a slight, and I mean slight, let down. I built it up so much in my mind that I was expecting to be utterly blown away, sat astounded in my cramped Odeon seat by a masterful piece of cinema that was equally emotionally compelling and visually spectacular. In reality it was just very - very good, but not without flaws. Don’t get me wrong there are moments of sheer brilliance where Ralston’s utter despair is brilliantly conveyed through the briefest of shots. Such as a passenger jet silently piercing the blue skies a few thousand feet above his head when he initially trips and traps his arm beneath a falling boulder, conveying in one shot both the immensity of Ralston’s distance from humanity and therefore his hopes of rescue as well as his lifelong shunning of companionship which ultimately lead to his whereabouts being unknown.
Another recurring scene that stayed with me features a raven that majestically soars above the canyon every morning as he struggles to even move an inch. These moments, coupled with the creative way in which Ralston’s desires, from his longing to be freed from his trap, to his need for food and eventually water, are portrayed all become overwhelmingly powerful in pulling the audience into Ralston’s shoes and in giving us a small sense of just how desperate he must feel. Although the film drags slightly in these places, they serve an important purpose in making us appreciate the length of time and sense of desperation Ralston felt before making the decision to sever his own arm in order to free himself.
I’m not going to dwell on the extremity of the scene the in question as in actuality there is far worse available if gore and self mutilation are your thing. What I will say is that the reason it has kicked up such a fuss, with reports of audience members fainting, is due to James Franco’s immense turn as Ralston. He truly is marvellous. To most his performance will go un-noticed, the naturalness and believability he brings to the role will leave many feeling he was just being himself; but it is his command of the character and ability to make us believe everything we see and moreover feel that makes the amputation scene so graphic. I stand by my prediction of an Oscar nod.
Ultimately 127 Hours isn’t quite the show stopping achievement I was expecting it to be but all things considered it is a hugely successful film. In the hands of lesser talented individuals this could have been an absolute disaster. In this respect it mirrors its subject matter, I don’t think there are many people on the face of this earth that could go through what that man did and not only come out the other side but come out better for it. In the end 127 Hours is a hugely uplifting and inspirational piece of filmmaking on both a critical and human level.
4/5
The Girlfriends View:
For a film that was predominantly 90 minutes of one man stuck in a canynon, the director managed to keep it interesting and you definitely come out of the cinema glad that you are alive! Despite the arm chopping scene not being overly graphic, you’ll probably have to look away a few times, I think because you really do feel his pain! Overall a good film and would definitely recommend if you want something a bit different to see!
