127 Hours (2010)

Directed By: Danny Boyle

Starring: James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Burton, & Treat Williams

MPAA Rating: R

My Rating: 10 / 10

Though much attention has been given to David Fincher and his ability to make techno-babble fascinating in The Social Network, it should be said that Danny Boyle deserves praise as well, as he expertly tackles a challenge just as daunting as the one Fincher faced. In 127 Hours, aside from a few minutes at the beginning, the narrative follows a man stuck in one place, unable to move, and with no one to communicate with. Suddenly, everything that usually propels a film...relationships, dialog between characters, movement, and more...are completely cut off. It is just us and the film's star, James Franco. What could (and, in all reality, should) have been a dull-as-dirt gimmick stretched out to ninety minutes is, thanks to Boyle and Franco, an electric and genuinely masterful piece of cinema, a film that is incomparable to anything else in theaters right now and that is certainly one of 2010's best offerings.

By now, it seems that everyone knows the story of Aron Ralston (played here by James Franco). He was a highly-experienced mountain climber who, while exploring an isolated canyon, barely survived an accident that left him stuck, his right arm pinned between the canyon wall and a massive boulder. For nearly five days, he remained there, unable to escape and knowing that no help was coming, as he hadn't told anyone where he was going. And, of course, you probably all know what happened next: in a final act to try to save his life, Aron cut his own arm off. The film follows Aron through his physical ordeal but, more importantly, gives a frightening, compelling window into his mind, as he slowly loses his grip on reality. 127 Hours is, according to the real Aron Ralston, "as close to a documentary as you can get."

Aron Ralston is portrayed with nothing short of miraculous conviction by James Franco, who's quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most intriguing actors. It is not enough to say the entire film rests on him...he is, quite literally, the person almost single-handedly responsible for keeping us watching. As I said, it's just him and us for much of the ninety minute runtime, but Franco is up for the challenge. You can tell, just by watching his performance, that he enjoyed exploring all of the different intricacies of the character, and it's nice to see a young actor who clearly appreciates acting as an artform rather than a business venture. Of course, all of the credit for this film's effectiveness cannot be given to him. Director Danny Boyle injects a kinetic energy into every shot, making the film feel like an appropriately frenzied dash to the end. And who could forget the delicious original score by A.R. Rahman? Creative and beautiful, what we hear is the perfect compliment to what we see.

Now, I'm sure most of you are wondering about the much-talked about scene...the arm amputation scene. Stories of people passing out and paramedics being called have been perhaps most of the news mainstream audiences have heard about this film. And yes, it is bloody and gory...but never gratuitously so. Instead, it really emphasizes the pain that Ralston must have experienced, using Franco's facial expressions and sounds to place us in Ralston's shoes. Is it hard to watch? Yes. In fact, I practically gave myself a toothache because I was clinching my teeth so hard, but I never looked away. In some ways, looking away would have felt, to me, like a bit of a cop-out, as if we had made this arduous journey with him all along, and then left him in the final stretch. Heck, I even felt bad drinking my four dollar Coke while he desperately clung to his dwindling water supply. That's really the reason behind 127 Hours' success. All things considered, it is the fact that Danny Boyle, James Franco, A.R. Rahman, and the rest of the filmmakers all contribute to make us feel as though we are trapped with Ralston in the canyon...running out of water...and, eventually, cutting off our own arms. It's a gritty, visceral journey, but it's worth it. Ultimately, through all the bloodshed, it's an uplifting tale about the will to live and human survival.