Saturday, November 20, 2010

127 Hours


Director Danny Boyle and actor James Franco team up for an unforgettable experience. The film is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, an extreme sports enthusiast and in the hands of another director, it could easily have been a two hour bore. Utilizing similar techniques first seen in "Trainspotting", Mr. Boyle takes us on a rollercoaster ride of emotion watching James Franco try to survive, trapped in a rocky gully in the Utah Canyonlands.

Mr. Boyle mixes audio and video imagery to create a non-stop rush of flashbacks, hallucinations, and agonizing close-ups of Mr. Franco's efforts to free himself from an seemingly impossible situation. There is a scene late in the film that is definitely not for the faint-hearted and by film's end, you will feel drained and exhausted as if you were actually there.

Credit Mr. Franco with his best role to date, bringing you into Aron's world and experiencing every moment of joy, agony, and everything in-between. He is in almost every frame and it is simply an amazing performance.

I won't explain any plot points or individual scenes. Try to see this film with little or no knowledge of what actually happened to Aron Ralston. "127 Hours" will reward your time and come next year, Oscar will surely reward "127 Hours". Danny Boyle has done it again.

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