127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010): USA

Reviewed by Addie Rosales. Viewed at The 2011 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

127 Hours is a true story about the adventurous life style of Aron Ralston (James Franco) and how the breach of the most important and basic rule (always let someone know where you are going) that all extreme athletes live by, was overlooked and resulted in devastating circumstances.

This film is by far the best movie I saw at the SB film festival, not only was it a fascinating story,  But James Franco’s performance was phanominal. Other aspects that added to the brilliance of this film was cinematography, which really complimented the beauty of Utah, along with a really great soundtrack. Director Danny Boyle didn’t hold back at all.  As a result, he put forth a raw and inspiring masterpiece. The main challenge he faced was presenting a compelling movie that was basically a one man show in an extremely limiting setting….very truly…a “rock and a hard place” while at the same time keeping the audience engaged and on the edge of their seats even though the outcome was known.  Director Boyle did this in such an adept way that even (the real) Aron Ralston during a live interview commented, “the movie is so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama.”

Aron gets himself in a horrible situation as he is out doing what he likes most- lone adventuring.  Aron is drawn to the remote Bluejohn Canyon in Eastern Utah when suddenly a boulder comes loose causing him to lose his grip.  Not only does he slip deeper into the narrow canyon crevice, but the boulder lands directly on his hand and lower arm trapping him.  At first Aron is in complete shock and unable to comprehend what had just happened because it was such a ridiculous circumstance. Once he was able to collect himself and process that, “yes, my hand is stuck underneath a boulder”, he wasted no time at all to try and figure out an escape plan.

His main tools for survival were his cheaply made pocketknives along with his limited amount of water. I found this to be a bit ironic due to the opening scene of Aron preparing for his upcoming adventure. There is a shot of him searching for his more durable and dependable pocketknife but was unable to find it, even though he was so close. There is another scene towards the beginning of the film where he is filling up his canteen in the sink. Aron left the fosit running while he finishes other tasks around the house, leaving the canteen in the sink over flowing. This drives home the point of how much we take for granted in our daily lives—something that Aron reflected on deeply during his ordeal.

As the hours of isolation increase, Aron’s sanity decreases. Franco does a magnificent job of relaying to the audience the desperation of the situation in his eyes and just how crazed he was becoming with his illusions and vivid dreams that were arising. I think one of the best scenes in the movie was when Aron really started to lose it and had a one on one interview, with himself. I believe this was the point in the movie when he finally realized he needs to make changes in his lifestyle. Aron admits he brought this upon himself by never letting anyone in on his plans and the feeling of guilt for never returning or answering his parent’s phone calls. “You know, I’ve been thinking. Everything is… just comes together. It’s me. I chose this. I chose all this. This rock… this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. It’s entire life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago. In space. It’s been waiting, to come here. Right, right here. I’ve been moving towards it my entire life. The minute I was born, every breath that I’ve taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the out surface.” This was also the point when he started to realize he wanted more in life than living so isolated and closed off from everyone around him. He had an epiphany and suddenly realized he wanted a family of his own, and that this is not his time to die. I believe this is what gave him the strength to do what needed to be done, and between Boyle’s great direction and Franco’s stunning performance, the audience was able to feel his desire to survive.

As the film progresses, and his attempts to free himself fail one after the other, he finally realizes his only chance of escaping is to amputate his trapped arm. In order to do this, he has to wait until his arm is rotten enough so his dull blade will be able to slice through the thick layer of skin. After he successfully gets through the surface of his arm by violently stabbing himself with his knife, he soon remembers about the bone he must break through. In order for Aron to continue this amputation, he has to break his bone himself because there is absolutely no way to cut it. The sound of his arm breaking is a lot more brutal and intense than the actual scene and the idea of what he is doing which was a great way to convey the intensity of the event on such a visceral level. But by far, the hardest part to watch for me was when Aron got down to the nerves. As you watched him breaking one by one slowly, this is enough to make a viewers arm start to tingle and feel uncomfortable. I can’t even begin to imagine how excruciating that pain must have been, but I am so amazed that Aron had the will power to do this, (as well as the physical and mental ability to stay conscious).

Finally after becoming free, Aron stood there in complete shock and dismay.  Franco conveyed the awe of having survived the nearly fatal feat of cutting off part of his arm, and now the realization that their still seemed to be the impossible feat of getting to help. Although the audience knew that he would make it back to civilization and be cared for, it was hard not to feel the gamut of emotion from joy to emotional and physical exhaustion to fear and then to relief, all so well displayed in Franco’s subtle nuances.
I also really appreciated this film because of what Aron gained from this disastrous situation. I think that most people would feel hopeless and helpless and just give up and await death, but Aron on the other hand, was able to take this all as a blessing. This movie was all over fantastic, and I thought it was beautiful that this movie was able to tell a story of personal hope, perseverance and ultimately, the love for family in such a stark and moving way.

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Published:
02.15.11 / 6pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2011