127 Hours: A Movie Review

Available From Amazon: 127 Hours Original Movie Poster (James Franco)

Danny Boyle invites us to a landscape that has previously paid host to cowboys, Indians and the odd flesh eating family. This time the beauty of the barren Canyonlands National Park in Utah kidnaps James Franco as he seeks adventure away from the crowded noise of city life.

Based on the real life events of Aron Ralston, Boyle breathes life into the desolate surroundings that sees Ralston seemingly trapped in a remote canyon with no means of escape. Similar to the protagonists of those past Western and horror movies, these beautiful stone formations become his kidnapper, holding him at bay for 127 hours.

Boyles direction juxtaposes the serenely quiet National Park with the growing fear and urgency of Ralston. A fall into a crevasse dislodges a boulder that ensnares his forearm and hand. Seemingly calm at the beginning of this ordeal, a realization sets in on Ralston that he is trapped with no means of escape, and without a cell phone, no means of contacting the outside world.

Having seen several trailers for this movie, this scenario drew me in. How was the story of a trapped man, alone in the wilderness, going to sustain the more than ninety minutes of celluloid? Those used to thrillers with non-stop action may be disappointed. This is not one of those films. Some have even called it boring, but they are missing the point. This is a story of human survival and how both Ralston and director Danny Boyle deal with it.

Without giving too much away, James Franco's superb performance of this man's progressive mental weakness, along with a lack of sustenance allows Boyle to fill the void with the introduction of a backdrop of characters. The threads of Ralston's existence are woven together through hallucinatory visions as we meet those who mean most to him.

It is at this point that it appears this will be the last time he will see any of them again. But throughout this ordeal, his will to survive has burned brightly. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but he has only one method of escape. How this is accomplished may have you turning from the screen, but it is a testament to human survival.