127 Hours

I started loving this film within the first few seconds. 127 Hours begins immediately with the sound of Fresh Blood's "Never Hear Surf Music Again" ("There must be some f*%#ing chemical, chemical in your brain, that makes us different from animals, makes us all the same." etc...) just as featured in the 1st trailer. That not-ripped-off euphoric feeling (how many times have you seen a trailer with a perfect song/music and then felt betrayed that it wasn't in the film later... yeah, me too) carried on all the way through the rest of the film.

The film has an energetic start with a split screen showing office-bound commuters/workers going along their daily drudge while our lead, x-treme biker/hiker/climber Aron Ralston (played to perfection by actor James Franco) packs his gear (unfortunately not finding his Swiss Army knife which might have made a lot of difference to him later on) for a trek into Blue John Canyon country in Utah. While on his way he has a brief fun climbing/diving/swimming interlude with two female hikers (played by Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn). He then heads off on his own and at about 20 minutes into the movie takes a tumble with a small boulder that ends up pinning his right arm against the side wall of the thin crevice of a canyon. And that is where we are with him for the next "127 hours" (but only 1 hour of screen time) that it takes him to get loose.

I'm not going to spoil that resolution here, although most will likely hear about it anyway before seeing the movie. An obvious clue that he survives is given by the screen credit early in the film that says it is "based on the book Between A Rock And A Hard Place by Aron Ralston". The guy must of survived if he wrote a book about it right? Well, you can survive in many ways and not all of them leave you whole (both mentally and physically).

Director Danny Boyle brings a lot of the key Oscar-winning players of the Slumdog team back for this new film. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, soundtrack composer A.R.Rahman and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (this time paired with Enrique Chediak) are chief among those. As an added bonus, from the director of the toilet-diving cam in Trainspotting, we now have the "desperately thirsty character saves his own urine so it can be filmed while drunk through a tube"-cam in this movie.

At the Toronto Film Festival's 2nd screening of the film, Boyle was there to take questions from the audience and his enthusiasm and excitement about the film were infectious. Tidbits included his talking about their 6 days of location shooting followed by a sound-stage recreation of the canyon based on 3D scanning imagery. Boyle also praised actor James Franco and emphasized how every time we see him in a new film he is stretching his talents and abilities, unlike many lead actors who are just basically playing themselves in various different situations.

Boyle said that for an audience to watch what would otherwise be deemed "unwatchable" you either had to be making a schlocky/not-to-be-taken-seriously horror movie OR you had to make the audience completely identify with the character to the extent that they would believe that they themselves would have done the exact same thing to save themselves if they had to. Well, Boyle succeeds in making you believe it.

Seen at the Ryerson Theatre, Toronto Sept. 13, 2010. 2nd screening of 3 at TIFF 2010.

Sometimes (even oftentimes) in the world of film criticism, the word "triumphant" is thrown around. It's often used to describe a film, perhaps more often a performance. I've certainly used it; it's a term I like to pull out when a film seems to go beyond the call of duty. When it's more than art, entertainment, or a combination of both. When the story, images, and characters pop off the screen and go with you, and the lasting impression left on you means something more than having killed a couple hours in a big, dark room with a bunch of strangers. Now, after watching 127 Hours, I feel I've never used "triumphant" in the correct critical context before.

James Franco's performance is simply astounding. He, as an actor, is triumphant because his character is, and because he delves into what it means to be bringing this incredible story to life on the big screen for mass consumption. This is a tough role - Franco is basically putting on a one-man show, and he does so elegantly. We feel Aron Ralston's pain because Franco feels his pain and shows it in every line of his face, verbalizes it with every sigh, and lets it control him even as he battles to take control back and find a way out of his dire situation.

It's pure, masterful art. Franco is simply flawless. Trapped by the boulder, much of his performance lies in his facial expressions, and he is able to deftly switch from desperation to comedy to a brutal will to survive, all while being barely able to move. I've rarely been so impressed by an actor's work; Franco is wholly deserving of the Oscar.

Danny Boyle's kinetic, energetic direction is a perfect match for Franco's easy-going goofiness, and even when the film becomes grounded in the narrow canyon where Ralston was trapped, Boyle always keeps things interesting. He and co-writer Simon Beaufoy weave flashbacks and hallucinations into Ralston's dilemma to great, heart-breaking effect, and the premonition that drives Ralston to finally dive whole-heartedly into amputating his own arm is breath-taking in its tenderness.

Also impressive is Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography. Instead of letting the confined space limit their camera techniques, they tackle every possible angle, often bringing the audience uncomfortably close to the action. Shots through the bottom of Ralston's water bottle mark time and heighten the sense of urgency. The addition of home movie-style footage brings Ralston even closer to the audience; when he expresses his delayed gratitude to his family, you'll likely find yourself thinking about the last time you told your parents how much you love them. It's a great device, and is put to best use in one of the film's funniest scenes, when Ralston interviews himself Gollum-style. The combination of the dark humor, varied cinematography, and Franco's impressive facial dexterity pitch the scene perfectly; it's a lighter moment that is nevertheless grounded in the gravity of the situation.

Complementing and combining Chediak and Mantle's beautiful shots is Jon Harris's dynamic editing. The use of split-screen is particularly brilliant, put to use in innovative ways throughout the film: the bookend sequences mark Ralston's departure from and return to society, and the technique in general represents the multiple facets of a seemingly simple tale. Yes, when it comes down to it, 127 Hours is a film about a mountain climber who gets stuck under a boulder and has to cut off his own arm. But it's so much more than that. It's about a man overcoming the physical, emotional, and intellectual strains of an unthinkable situation. It's about responsibility, love, and the will to live. Above all, it's about the triumph of the human spirit, show more clearly and beautifully here than in any other film I can think of.

The story of Aron Ralston is documented in this intense drama. It's the true story of Ralston who found himself stuck in a cave in Utah with his arm pinned under a bolder. I knew much of the story before I watched this film and honestly was a bit queezy as to what might be shown. I'm the sort who does not do well seeing blood and guts and watching this movie was a true test for me. If you are the type of person who gets queezy over stuff like this, I must say view with caution. If you can stomach watching this film, however, you will witness an incredible true story that you will never forget.

James Franco is really good in this film. Ralston himself has said the film is very true to what actually happened. It is quite a predicament that he is in and all the thoughts that go through his mind are ones that most would contemplate. What Ralston does to survive this ordeal is unbelievable and something that many if not most people could not force themselves to do. Rating 7 of 10 starts.

There are two things that could or might work against this film. The first thing is that this is the first film from Danny Boyle since the runaway success of Slumdog – so he is a "big" director now and accordingly the posters for this are everywhere and awards are being muted, the star of Pineapple Express is in the lead and audiences are making it their Saturday night choice. The second of them is the plot in which essentially a rather arrogant and spoilt character gets himself into trouble and gets out of it by learning a "lesson" about the error of his ways. This plot could easily be on the Hallmark channel daytime schedule right now complete with corny "I'm learning to be better" music and warm, safe colours everywhere.

The problem with the first thing is that, while these things are true, 127 Hours is essentially an independent movie, not a massive blockbuster and it is the sort of smaller fare that critics love and audiences discover – it isn't the film I expect to be on every other bus shelter. So, while it is really good that he made the decision to do a project he wanted to do rather than cashing in with the "big" Hollywood movie, it may lead some to expect something that the film never pretends to be. Having said that though, in regards the second challenge, thank God that this is a Danny Boyle film and not something picked up by the TV networks or less imaginative director, because this could have been corny, obvious, sentimental and cloying. In fact, Boyle appears to be working against that as much as humanly possible.

We have very little time in the film before our character is alone, down a hole and trapped alone. Most of us will know where it is going and the question is how will the next 80 minutes be filled? The content of the film is indeed the character beating himself up a bit over who he is, struggling with hallucinations and become more and more fevered until he decides that he has to do what he has to do. It is really well scripted though and Boyle really delivers in terms of putting it on the screen. I thought the idea of "self-revelation flashbacks" sounded cheap and obvious as a device, but Boyle does it really well, making them partially remembered, flashes and even when our character is "in" them, he is still "in" his current predicament – hard to explain perhaps but it worked much better than a complete scene as a flashback. The one problem that his direction does cause is that I never felt trapped with Aron, because the camera was moving out and around so much – I know they shot it in deliberately confined setting but this didn't really come through. That said, I think that this loss is a price worth paying because it does visually engage and these flourishes and style adds more than it detracts. The soundtrack is odd a times but mostly works really well.

Franco is key and this did worry me since Bole says he cast him after seeing how excellent he was in Pineapple Express – a sentiment I really don't agree with, although I though he was likable in a story that was not so likable. Here he is really, really good. He has to do a lot of thinking on his face and he makes this work while also letting his character change over the course of the ordeal. Perhaps we don't get his full character but in terms of the film the performance was really engaging and convincing.

Overall 127 Hours is not the big Saturday night drama that it is billed as, it is an indie film that is very contained and not an easy sell if we're honest. However, it is also a very good film with Boyle really making it his own to the benefit of the material, avoiding the traps of sentiment that so many would have fallen into and producing an engaging situation while Franco matches him with a strong performance that easily holds the attention.

I wondered how filmmakers were going to keep the viewers interested in a guy stuck in crevice for five days. I found out: unique photography, a little humor here and there, a little romance, a little family sentiment, and a great job by both lead actor James Franco and director Danny Boyle.

The two combined to make much more of what could have been a boring film. They kept it interesting all the way.

It all added up to an entertaining film, not something I'd watch a number of times but one I'm glad I rented. This is a special treat in high-def, too, with the amazing Utah scenery and the unique camera shots by Boyle. That includes a number of split-screens and other creative stuff.