Boyle and Franco Put In a Solid 127 Hours
127 Hours is a movie about a man who in some ways is the opposite of a culture that wants to know everything we’re doing every hour of every day. He distances himself from everybody and enjoys getting outside alone. He tries to conquer nature, even going so far as to video record his efforts. This man, Aron Ralston, played by James Franco, takes a trip to canyoneer in the dry crevasses of Utah, free of any cellular connection to anyone, and finds himself in a bit of a jam, wishing he hadn’t cut himself off from everybody so cleanly.
One of the biggest challenges of shooting 127 Hours, based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston, is three quarters of the story takes place in one spot where Aron gets stuck, which can be difficult to make visually interesting. Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) overcomes the challenge with ease. He starts out the movie with a great musical beat behind a lot of physical movement. The screen splits into crowds of people bustling to work or cheering together at sporting events as we simultaneously watch Aron alone in his apartment, getting ready for his trip. And when Aron eventually gets stuck, the camera hardly seems to stay still in any shot for very long. We get different angles, split-screens, point of view shots of his camera, point of view shots behind his camera as he’s recording messages to his family, and even what may be the world’s first CamelBak cam. All of these techniques are in service of pacing, character, empathy, and giving the audience a sense of Aron’s time running out.
As Aron thinks about his last interactions with the people in his life, we are also treated to flashbacks. Boyle is sharp enough to avoid the plain-jane trope of taking us completely away from the present for minutes on end to depict some chapters in Aron’s life that helped shape him or bring him to his current predicament. Instead, Boyle employs split-screens or makes memories appear in the canyon in order to keep us at Aron’s side and in his mind. While Aron’s self-created isolation crashes down on him, we are there keeping him company.
Boyle has repeatedly expressed an interest in themes regarding the necessity for others, appreciation for life, and man’s hubris ending in disaster. 127 Hours is no exception since it tackles these themes well, even if simply. Ralston initially tries lifting, hitting, and budging the rock that has rendered him immobile. He even tries creating a clever pulley system. All of this comes before he can admit his folly and be willing to get over his reluctance to free himself from himself, so to speak.
“I did this,” he says, “This boulder has been waiting for me… everything I’ve done has been leading me to this crack in the earth.”
To speak momentarily about the event this movie is most known for and what got the real Aron Ralston his fifteen minutes a few years ago, I will say it is in the film. Briefly. It is bloody, but not graphic. At least not as much as the hype would lead you to believe. What’s important is you feel the experience just as you feel his need for water. That being the case, we learn we may not be so different from him… and may even be willing to make the same sacrifices he does to stay alive. Regardless, its part in this film is too small to merit avoiding the film entirely, even by the squeamish.
Recently, I counted James Franco among my favorite Digital Age actors, noting a promising talent that has yet to have its moment to shine. 127 Hours is certainly Franco’s moment. This is a performance that will nominate Franco for many awards, but few wins. He carries the film as well as anyone could be expected to – and better than most would.
The same could be said of Danny Boyle’s handling of the story; it’s told as well as it possibly could be (it could’ve been a lot worse) with a fantastic soundtrack that cements Boyle as one of the great soundtrack directors and an ability to draw the audience into the situation. But 127 Hours won’t exactly move mountains.
One thing is for sure: as you watch Ralston run short on water and dream about ice cold bottles of beer and other beverages pouring into perspiring glasses of ice, you will be grateful for the ice cold soda by your side – and its free refills.
7/10
Should you see it? Rent
127 Hours recently widened to 433 theaters and may be playing near you.