127 Hours

"127 hours" is a gripping tale of survival and perseverance. Aron Ralston, a mountain climber, becomes trapped in a canyon and tries to find a way out. No one knows where he is and he is completely alone. Aron has to fight against time and his own mind to make it out alive.

Aron (James Franco) goes through many trials in trying to free his right arm from underneath the boulder that traps him but for unknown reasons he can't seem to figure out a solution. As we go through this process with him we start to feel that there truly is no way out. It is a fact. He is going to die. He is beginning to lose his mind and slip closer and closer to death. As an audience, the world is aware of Aron’s situation through the book he wrote, the cleverly titled Between a Rock and a Hard Place. We know he gets out by cutting his arm off, but it is still very hard to watch this man struggle to come to terms with this reality.

Within fifteen minutes of the film Aron is stuck in the canyon and for the rest of the movie so are we. I can't believe they spent $18 million on this movie. Most of the movie was spent in one set! What did they use that money for? Anyway, after Aron figures out that he needs to break his arm to get out, frees himself by cutting off his arm. As stated above, this is not a shocker. Even though we all know what's coming, no one is used to seeing someone cut his or her arm off.

When asked about this film Aron says, “The movie is so factually accurate, it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.” Knowing that what we are seeing on screen is close to the actual event is somewhat disturbing, but only makes me respect Aron all the more. This movie won James Franco an Academy Award nomination for best actor. I, for one, was genuinely surprised he was nominated. He did a great job but I do not believe it was Academy award winning acting.

Even though ninety percent of the movie is spent in a two-foot wide canyon, I never felt bored by the lack of camera angles, but I was surprised by how they used the cramped space to their advantage. Danny Boyle, the director,  didn’t let the audience wander from the canyon any further than Aron could reach. We were with him till the very end. The fact that they were able to keep thousands of people interested on one person (who is in fact slowly dying in front of our eyes), and in one tiny cramped space is extremely impressive. Anthony Dod Mantle, the cinematographer Boyle also used on “Slumdog Millionaire” and “28 Days Later,” was able to create very unique ways to view Aron’s battle for survival. The editing and cinematography definitely felt similar to Slumdog, but at the same time had a feeling of newness and unfamiliarity.

This movie is tough to watch at times but it does what every great movie should be able to do, it manipulates the viewer’s point of view by placing you in the situation along with the character. “127 hours” brings moments of happiness and humor, as well as sadness and desperation. This movie resonates so well with audiences because it is so primal. Human survival. It’s our most primal instinct. Just survive.  It is an intense ride, and for those who can take the two minutes of gore, I definitely suggest it. Just bring something to drink. You will inevitably become extremely thirsty.

FINAL GRADE: A