127 Hours

Director: Danny Boyle
Writers: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Aron Ralston (author)
Starring: James Franco
Release Date: November 5, 2010
Length: 1 hour 45 minutes

Visionary director Danny Boyle is on a top film streak. After 2 years from his success with Slumdog Millionaire, he delivers 127 Hours, the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston and his extraordinary power to do the unthinkable in order to survive. Screening at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, 127 Hours is one of the most powerful, emotional, intense movie experiences of all time. Aron Ralston (James Franco) decides to leave his house one night, without his Swiss army knife, in what the audience is left to believe is another one of his adventurous escapades. Aron drives to Blue John canyon, where he meets and hangs out with two girls, Kristin (Kate Mara) and Megan (Amber Tamblyn). About an hour after he says goodbye to them, Aron attempts to climb out of a space between canyon walls, but as he uses a boulder to push himself up, the boulder becomes dislodged and crushes his forearm against one of the canyon walls. For five days, 127 hours to be exact, Aron struggles, trying every possible way to get himself out while he videotapes himself on his camcorder. Personally, I did not want to see a film about a guy who has to cut his arm in order to survive. So let me say to the people who want to stop reading this review now because they feel that way as well, that as someone who does not enjoy gore, the actual scene where he amputates his arm is only four minutes long. The scene is quite gory and seems sickeningly realistic, but all you have to do is look down at the floor or close your eyes and when it’s over, it’s over. The reason I bought my ticket for this film was because I fully believed Danny Boyle would not disappoint after his extreme success from Slumdog Millionaire. He’s not the only one who worked on Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, though. Academy award winning screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy and producer, Christian Colson were on the same team too. The three of them did everything but let me down. Beaufoy and Boyle faced the biggest challenge of making a one-man movie as fantastic and authentic as this movie is because it’s James Franco and no one else for about 3 quarters of the movie. Boyle pulls you into Aron’s mind so you feel and know exactly how he’s feeling and how terribly stressful this potentially fatal situation is. You don’t just feel bad for him and want him to get out. You feel like you are a part of him struggling with what he’s struggling with and trying to find a way out for both of you. At the Q&A after the TIFF screening, Danny Boyle said they didn’t want to make a movie where you end up saying, “What an incredible hero, I could never do that,”. He wanted to make a movie where you are so deepy involved with this character that you question if you would ever do that, if facing the same decision. Danny Boyle fully accomplished that goal, as I found myself thinking exactly what he wanted us to think. I wasn’t surprised that Danny Boyle delivered as a director, but I was completely blown away with what James Franco delivered as an actor. Franco, so far has acted in movies that have proven him to be a funny actor or a good actor, but he hasn’t done anything to make himself seem like an amazing actor. This is that movie that changes how everyone thinks of him and proves him to be one of the most incredible actors in Hollywood. Franco is simply outstanding in this movie. His performance as Ralston felt so genuine and so real that I forgot it was James Franco from Spider-man and Pineapple Express and I never doubted him as Ralston. Despite the disturbing premise of this film, you will leave the theatre feeling incredibly inspired and joyous. 127 Hours is not a dark story but a touchingly triumphant story. There is hardly much more to compliment 127 Hours on except to mention that it got a five-minute standing ovation at the festival’s screening, of which I proudly took part in. This movie is by far, one of the best films of the year. You will certainly be missing out if you don’t see 127 Hours.