127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010): USA/UK

Reviewed by Sanni Frostenson. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011.

This film is worth seeing for many reasons. The main character, Aron Ralston, is masterfully portrayed by James Franco, and he truly deserves the nominations he got for 127 Hours.  The movie is based on a true event, which also makes it more interesting.

The young man Aron Ralston likes to go out hiking and climbing by himself. He takes his bicycle and rides it for 30 miles to a Canyon in Utah, but unfortunately never tells anyone where he is going. He does not pick up the phone when his mother calls, and never tells his colleagues at work either—both of which he will deeply regret later. Ralston did not see anything unusual with this trip of his, but you never know when Lady Fortune is on your side or not.

After running around the Canyon for a while he runs into two lost girls, Kristi and Megan (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn), and ends up hanging out with them for a while. He shows them an amazing cave where you can jump into the water and they both really appreciate his company. When they later go their different ways they ask him to come to their party the day after, and he answers maybe.

Ralston continues on  by himself when the accident happens: his hand is  pinned under a huge boulder in a small canyon.

I was amazed throughout the movie by how calm Ralston is, even when he later starts to hallucinate from loneliness, dehydration, fatigue and hunger. Even though he was clumsy not to tell anyone where he was heading, his head is what keeps him going for this long. To survive something like this you have to be smart—and use both parts of the brain.

The film is easily comparable to the documentary Touching the Void where two mountain climbers have a similar accident, where one of them gets hurt and is believed to be dead. I also felt some connections to the film Buried where a man is stuck in a chest/casket under ground.  127 Hours plays out as well as these two movies about survival and “Man versus Nature.”

The Cinematography is great and the scenery stunningly beautiful. Most of the film plays out inside the small chasm where Ralston get’s stuck, but even so the movie is exciting and entertaining throughout. In the opening scene, as well as a few times during the movie, the screen is divided into three strips, which is a cool effect. I think much of this movie’s magic is due to an excellent screenplay, but most of all the effective music. Sound is of huge importance for the emotional effect on the audience, and in this film they have really succeeded in pairing the sound excellently with the story.

This movie is an unforgettable one for many people, and the audience around me in the theater went from squeaking of disgust and fear, to laughing and crying. What is a better review from the audience than that span of emotions during a screening?

Highly recommended film to people of all ages, genders and interests.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010): USA/UK,” an entry on Student Film Reviews

Published:
02.02.11 / 6pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011