127 Hours

9/10 Dropps

Genre: Drama
Rated: R
Running Time: 1 hr. 33 min.

In Theaters: Nov 5, 2010 Limited
Box Office:$4.4M
Directed By: Danny Boyle
Written By: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy

127 Hours tells the harrowing true story of Aron Ralston, an engineer with a
weekend passion for climbing mountains. As Ralston adventures deep into the vast
wilderness of the Utah desert, he finds himself trapped in a maze of intricate rock
caverns called Bluejohn Canyon. With his arm pinned between a rock and a hard
place, Ralston is faced with the prospect of death and must take desperate measures
in order to survive.

Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place penned by Ralston himself, 127
Hours is an adrenaline-packed docudrama that is guaranteed to impress. Filling the
role of Aron Ralston is James Franco, who gives what is arguably the performance of
his career. Much like 2009’s Moon, 127 Hours defines the limitations of what can be
done with a lone actor in a limited environment. With a majority of the film focusing
on Ralston’s unfortunate predicament in Bluejohn Canyon, one could imagine 127
Hours to drag. With Danny Boyle behind the lens, however, the action is never dull.

Co-writer and Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Sunshine, 28 Days Later)
continues his utterly impressive streak of mesmerizing films with 127 Hours.
As it’s his first film since the Oscar-winning gem, Slumdog Millionaire, it can be
easy to imagine how much pressure has been placed on his shoulders to produce
something on par. Known for his larger-than-life approach to filmmaking and
original perspectives, Boyle took an alternate route with 127 Hours, focusing on the
story of a single man on a small scale, instead of a large-scaled production along the
lines of his earlier films.

Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (who helped adapt Ralston’s book) were endlessly clever
with their scene choices and pacing of 127 Hours. A boring, tedious story about a
man alone in a desert cavern could be made by anyone, but Boyle was smart to use
techniques like dreams and hallucinations to fill any seemingly-missing parts of
the film. He also does a fantastic job of capturing some of the most beautifully-shot
landscapes of 2010, using the formations of the desolate desert right outside Moab,
Utah.

127 Hours is a painfully-true story of a man pushed to his limits and faced with
impossible decisions. With Boyle behind the lens and Franco at the center of
attention, a beautiful film is crafted from a horrific situation. It can be hard to watch
and at times is violent and sad, but those who are brave enough to take the journey
with Ralston are almost guaranteed to walk away pleased.

-Hunter Freiburg