VICKI ISITT – NOVEMBER 30, 2010
Release Date (UK) – 7th January 2011Certificate (UK) – 15
Country – USA-UK
Runtime – 94 mins
Director – Danny Boyle
Starring – James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Clémence Poésy
127 Hours marks Danny Boyle first film since the success of Slumdog Millionaire (2009), and stars James Franco as Aron Ralston, an extreme sports enthusiast who goes to Utah for the weekend to re-explore Blue John canyon, one of his favourite places in the world. Based on a true story, Aron parks his car on the outskirts of the canyon and cycles twenty miles inwards towards Blue John, bumping into two girls (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara). After some fun and frivolity the two girls head off and Aron continues to explore, until when down in the canyon a large boulder dislodges, and traps his arm.
127 Hours is one of the hardest films to watch, largely because of the anticipation. You know what’s coming (or you should), and in every scene you’re looking out for that exact moment when it happens, and even after his arm becomes trapped you sit wishing, hoping that he manages to escape despite knowing he won’t. ‘That scene’, which the film builds up towards is incredibly difficult to watch, not only because the image makes you want to shut your eyes, and the piercing sound makes you want to cover your ears, but the personal connection you’ve developed with this character makes it excruciating. Once Aron traps his arm, the only other characters are those of his imagination, and with the dialogue being mostly Aron talking to his camcorder, combined with Boyle’s close up camera angles, the audience very quickly develops a close relationship with him.
Initially when the boulder traps his arm Aron isn’t too worried, surely it’ll be easy to move. He tries manual force, a pulley system, carving away at the boulder…but nothing works. Once nightfall begins to settle in you can see his confident smile fading as the temperature drops, and we feel his dreading realisation as his food and water supplies start to dwindle. He hasn’t told anyone where he was going, and no one is expecting him back until the middle of the following week.
There’s a reason Oscar buzz is surrounding James Franco and it’s definitely warranted. Franco is exceptional in portraying Aron’s personal transformation and journey from the cocky guy we meet at the beginning to someone telling his parents goodbye on camcorder. One of my favourite and most powerful scenes in the film is when Aron interviews himself, imaging himself as both the host and the interviewee, discussing how much longer he might survive and the number of days until someone finds his body. For those that have seen Requiem for a Dream (2000), the final scene where Sara Goldfarb, high on painkillers after having ECT for anorexia imagines appearing on her favourite game show, is very similar (although less affective).127 Hours has Danny Boyle stamped all over it, so you’d better be a fan of his work if you intend to enjoy the film. Both the style of editing and the camera angles are examples of Boyle’s previous cinematography, and A.R. Rahman joins him again to supply some wonderful original score music.
127 Hours is a must-see and brilliant film, however those not fond of James Franco or Danny Boyle might not find as much enjoyment in it. What makes it fantastic though is the anticipation, the tension and the build up, so I’m not sure how it would hold up to a second viewing. However, if that’s the only fault you can find in a film, something’s gone right.
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