127 Hours

It's easy to compare "127 Hours" to Rodrigo Cortés' "Buried." Both were released in the U.S. in 2010, both focused their screen-time primarily on one character, and both were crafted with similar ambitions in mind. However, while the Ryan-Reynolds-in-a-box flick was a thrilling thrill-ride of a Hitchcockian thriller, Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" is a drama in which the spotlight is pointed directly at the emotional core.

This is the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" director's ninth theatrical release, and is further proof that he is indeed a man of many genres. It is a stunningly harrowing experience, this made worse by the knowledge that the distressing story is a true one. It's not as claustrophobic or tense as "Buried," but it's so exceptionally well-made that this doesn't matter.

It tells the factual fable from 2003 of a mountain climber, Aron Ralston (James Franco, "Pineapple Express"), who is between a rock and a hard place. He has fallen into a canyon in Utah while hiking. His right arm has become trapped underneath a rather heavy boulder. He can't lift it, move it, or free his crushed limb. He's stuck there, and there's no one around for miles. He screams, but no one can hear. None of his family or friends know where he is.

He's a resourceful lad, his career as an engineer seemingly coming in handy (bad pun, sorry). He's armed (ha!) with a flashlight, climbing rope, a blunt-bladed penknife, and a digital camera. For nourishment, he has a chicken sandwich and around 300ml of water. He doesn't, however, have a cell phone. Idiot.

Aron, quickly coming to terms with the possibility that he may die down there, begins to re-evaluate his life. An independent hiker, he realises he has been selfish and unappreciative of those around him. It comes to him that he can't do everything on his own. He claims that this boulder has been waiting for him all his life. When it lands on his arm, he quickly understands the situation. He should have told someone where he was going, and he regrets his wild, secluded lifestyle.

Franco owns the film, of which the cast list is short. In earlier scenes with lost hikers Megan (Amber Tamblyn, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") and Kristi (Kate Mara, "The Open Road"), his real-life character is a cocky individual with a sense of adventure as vast as the desert he fearlessly explores.

We are with him and his rocky co-star for the widespread majority of the film. Outside of earlier scenes with the two girls he meets and shows off to, the only sequences with anyone other than Franco are either hallucinations or brief flashbacks. It's a relief then that the "Freaks and Geeks" star is such a fabulous actor.

Boyle gets recklessly imaginative to keep the audience's attention on a dude stuck under a big rock. Split-screens are utilised to their fullest, most notably in the opening titles and as Aron's mind begins to tremble ever so slightly. Cameras are fitted inside Aron's water bottle as his tongue searches for droplets of the precious liquid. Boyle makes sure to take advantage of every angle he can shoot Franco from, getting up-close-and-personal with the trapped mountaineer. We watch footage from Aron's camcorder as he films himself and says his goodbyes to his family just in case. The film is a parade of visuals, but Boyle's work doesn't take away from the matter at hand. Heh, hand.

We go through the film's events with Aron. Everything we see, he sees. Everything we hear, he hears. Any of these could be hallucinations, but we witness them nonetheless. A.R. Rahman's music stings at Aron's pain and agony. We suffer with him as he is forced to take part in some grisly business. What he does is gruesome, and the film doesn't shy away from it.

Along with Boyle's stupefying direction, the cinematography by Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle is a glorious spectacle of radiant colours. The deserted landscapes of Utah are a beautiful sight, its sweat-inducing heat almost burning through the screen. Shots as Aron travels to and through the roasting-hot picturesque area are photographed marvellously. It’s all so gorgeous and eye-massaging. Still, I wouldn't go near its canyons any time soon.

Most will know how "127 Hours" ends, as the real-life events were well-documented back in '03. The film is all a build-up to the ghastly, graphic finale as Aron makes one last desperate attempt to break free. It's gory, but you can't take your eyes from the screen. And it ends on the kind of teary-eyed "hurrah!" that will have you flinging your fists (or fist) in the air with unashamed joy.

Both visually and emotionally, "127 Hours" is inspiring. We are presented with a character who realises that he has lived his life the wrong way. He is put in a situation no one wants to be in, and has to take matters into his own hand. It's triumphant, brilliantly dramatic, and terrifically acted by Franco. Still though, Boyle, easy on the close-ups of Aron pissing into a bottle. It’s a bit off-putting.

9/10