If you’ve ever had the urge to become a canyoneer or mountain climber and just haven’t acted on it, 127 Hours will stop that urge cold. It is a PSA for safe extreme sports and avoidance of the desert.
Based on a true tale, 127 Hours is very nearly a one man play held together by the talents of James Franco and Danny Boyle. It’s the story of Aron Ralston, an adrenaline junkie who goes out for his usual weekend of canyoneering and rock climbing when suddenly the weekend takes a tragic turn as during a climb down into a deserted crevice Aron falls, followed by a boulder that pins Aron’s had to the canyon wall. What follows is a grueling, tense, and occasionally gory tale of one man’s survival instinct that ends with the headline that made the news – desperate and out of options Ralston cuts off his own arm using a Leatherman in order to escape.
This is a film that is truly helmed by one actor. Sure, there’s a beginning and an end with the people in Ralston’s life but the majority of this film is Franco, alone with nothing but a boulder and a camcorder to keep him company. It’s a tribute to Franco and Boyle that this film sucks you in and doesn’t let you go until the very end.
While I don’t expect 127 Hours to light up the awards this season, I do think that Franco could come out with more than one acting nomination. Boyle chose and directed his leading man right, helping him to navigate the waters from cocky adrenaline junkie, to desperate being and all the while the audience is never pulled out of his peril.
Director: Danny Boyle
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