A true story helmed by Danny Boyle, director of last year’s Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire, about mountain climber Aron Ralston’s (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers (Clemence Poesy), family, and the two hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) he met before his accident.
We all know the drill – man meets boulder, arm meets knife, the end – so how to do Aron Ralston’s staggering real-life survival story justice on film? The dignified option, as seen in Buried, is to trust in the power of a well-told tale. The alternative, as seen here, is to throw every imaginable trick, tick and gimmick at the screen and see what sticks. It’s the stylistic equivalent of cutting your arm off with a blunt knife – effective, but not necessarily the best way to go about it.
The film begins irritatingly, with sped-up, triple split-screen footage of football crowds, the stock exchange, cruising cars. Ostensibly this is to match Ralston’s Energiser Bunny character (is it wrong to think, on balance, he’s a bit of a dick?), but it never relents – even post-boulder – as if Boyle were terrified of boring us. One (admittedly beautiful) helicopter shot, stranding Franco in the endless Utah wilderness, threatens to track back into outer space, like Phone Booth. Why is a film about being completely stuck so afraid of standing still?
Once the full horror of the situation is apparent, Boyle’s virtuosity begins to hit the mark, as bold music cues, manipulative childhood memories and Scooby-Doo dream freakouts groom us for the big moment. The director has a brilliant sense of sensuousness – hands smoothing ancient rocks, insects clicking on skin – and, whether interrogating himself straight to camera or considering a desperate wank, Franco is fantastic. “So I found this great tourniquet,” he says, chillingly, before ushering in a climax so staggering you’ll forget how irritated you were to begin with.
By Matt Glasby, Flicks.co.nz
Danny Boyle rarely disappoints. His films are, if not brilliant ('Trainspotting'), then at least bloody entertaining ('28 Days Later') or just plain interesting ('Sunshine.') '127 Hours,' the true story of US "free climber," Aron Ralston (James Franco), and his 127 hours spent trapped in a canyon, his arm wedged beneath a large rock, is beautifully shot, highly imaginative and edited with wit, verve and dynamism. Franco excels as the lead and introducing the real Ralston at the end is a neat touch. Not for the squeamish mind as, true to the real events, the protagonist does cut off his own arm with a blunt little penknife... For those who loved Sean Penn's 'Into The Wild' (and Franco is as good here as Emile Hirsch was in Penn's film), this is a must see. Better yet, Ralston is viewed not a hero per se - but as a bit of a vain arrogant young man who foolishly failed to tell anyone where he was going and ends up paying for his hubris - so it's tongue-in-cheek final on screen type is pretty fitting. Solidly entertaining - but don't go on a full stomach!
Brilliantly told great flash backs but not good when he discovers his only action left
I really enjoyed this film as a whole. I thought that the situation that eventuated was shown in a realistic gripping fashion, and several times in the film you wondered "Is he going to get out this time?" James Franco played the role very very well. I agree with other reviews that the start of the film was annoying. I also couldn't watch the 'hacking the arm off with a penknife' bit. It was just too bloody for me, so be prepared to close your eyes through this part if you are squeamish. Despite this, it was a really good film.
The whole production was spot-on. The guy was a bit of a dick to start with, but boy, he got all my sympathy .. at that very moment when both he & I knew he was "proper" stuck .. Well done Danny Boyle. Oddly enough I could stomach doing the penknife easier than the mountain biking!!
The movie itself, is a pretty amazing film. Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) had taken a lot of time to draw the audience into the story and feel the frustration, self hatred, self loathing as well as the utter boredom of being trapped in that little rock crevice. And since the movie is at it's absolute core a one man show, James Franco's (Freaks & Geeks, Pineapple Express) performance helped to suck the audience in and make what could have been a really long boring movie about a guy and his pet rock into a pretty harrowing film. Although there is one questionable scene where Aron is gettin a little too friendly with himself and gets a little hands on with the boulder trapping his hand.... that kind of threw me for a second. And can I just say, out of all of Franco's work, this movie has really proven that he is an amazing actor, and not just some stoner pretty-boy. The movie gets a solid 5/5 from me. However, I couldn't help but be annoyed by the film... Not for anything the director or actors did, but just because of the storyline in general. What idiot doesn't leave a note, or tell someone where they are going!!!!! How dumb do you have to be for this not to cross your mind at some point?!
Is the film watchable? Yes, compulsively.
You probably remember the story. What happened to young American climber Aron Ralston, and the way in which Ralston then happened to himself, went around the planet very quickly, and inspired plenty of "I wonder whether I could do that" moments around the kitchen tables and water coolers of the world.
A surprisingly fun, effervescent against-the-odds drama that offers an upbeat moral without the usual punishing survival-story clichés. Not for the faint-hearted, mind.
James Franco is outstanding in this true story that might put you off climbing for life. By Peter Bradshaw
All of the key creative personnel contribute to the movie's nail-biting tension and unexpectedly moving finale. Jon Harris's editing is matchless, and Rahman's score effectively heightens the emotion. Ultimately, however, it is the talents of Boyle and Franco that sock this movie home.
We've been told the NZ release date for this flick is Thursday, 10th Feb 2011.
Release date: February 10th 2011.
We haven't received times for this movie in this location yet. However these are updated as cinemas announce them, so check back soon. Hopefully the lovely cinemas in your location will choose to play it shortly. ~Ed.
