Review 790: 127 Hours

Aron Ralston (James Franco) has a passion for all things outdoors. But when a falling boulder traps him in a remote Utah canyon, a thrill seeker's adventure becomes the challenge of a lifetime. Over the next five days, Ralston embarks on a remarkable personal journey in which he relies on the memories of his family and friends - as well as his own courage and ingenuity - to turn adversity into triumph.

It captures the intimacy and desperation him being alone in a single spot. Because he's literally pinned down in one place, a lot of what happens goes on inside Aaron's head, because he's completely isolated and dealing with himself but in very physical ways.   

At one point the camera shoots out of the crevice and zooms across the Utah landscape as far as his jeep, almost as if it's trying to escape - like he's desperately trying to escape entrapment and get back to his friends and family.

The production design is remarkable, recreating that canyon Ralston was trapped in and making it feel claustrophobic   the score by A. R. Rahman (who previously collaborated with Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire from a couple of years prior)

At the centre of 127 Hours is James Franco's powerhouse performance as Aron Ralston, the film   but he's careless as he doesn't bother to tell anyone where he's going which really comes back to bite him when he's pinned down in that 

Over the course of the film, we get small appearances from Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Clemance Poesy, Lizzy Caplan, Kate Burton and Treat Williams which filter in and out but ultimately the show really belongs to Franco. He carries this film literally (and figuratively) on his shoulders.