Going in to see "127 Hours," I knew that James Franco would be carrying almost the entire movie, and that it was directed by Danny Boyle, who also directed the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire." I also knew that it is based on a true story. The film, however, ended up surprising me, and not really in a good way.
Aron Ralston (James Franco, "Eat Pray Love") is a solo adventurer. He decides to go "canyoneering" in the mountains by himself, and unfortunately he didn't leave a note at home or tell anyone the location to which he was going. When he climbs down into a particularly narrow part of the mountain, a boulder falls on his arm, and it pins his arm and his hand to the wall. Aron tries everything he can think of to unpin himself from the boulder, but unfortunately, his best efforts aren't working. As days start to pass by and his supply of food and water starts to rapidly dwindle, he must do the unthinkable in order to survive.
This movie could basically be called "The James Franco Show," because throughout its 96-minute runtime, Franco carries the movie for a good 60+ minutes of it; by that, I mean that he is the only one on screen, and the only one around whom the plot revolves. At the beginning of the film, he meets two other hikers (Kate Mara, "Iron Man 2," and Amber Tamblyn, TV's "The Unusuals"), but after giving them directions, they soon part ways. The movie also explores his past and his relationships, but these are, of course, shown in flashbacks.
Maybe see this film. It was not really my "cup of tea" but there has already been Oscar buzz that Franco is going to be nominated for the Best Actor award, and that the film itself might get a nom for Best Film. I found the film to be a bit tedious at times, but I do admit that Franco did a terrific job throughout the movie. The now infamous scene where he has to cut off his arm in order to escape from the boulder was bloody, but not as bad as I thought it would be - I had heard that audiences had been vomiting and fainting during it - and so that scene in no way should deter you from seeing the movie, if it's one you want to see. The movie also reminded me of "Slumdog Millionaire" in that Danny Boyle used bright colors and interesting angles in shooting the film, similar to "Slumdog."
"127 Hours" is already playing in select theaters, and it premieres in the Detroit area on November 19th.
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
