February 19, 2011

127 Hours (2010) ****

Directed by Danny Boyle

Aron Ralston (played by James Franco) is a cocky young thrill seeker who goes on a mini hiking vacation without telling anyone where he's going. He's enjoying his day hiking at a good pace but nothing too difficult when suddenly he slips and his hand is crushed and trapped by a boulder. 127 Hours is the story of his mental, emotional and physical ordeal. It shows his ingenuity, his strength and the highs and lows of human experience. Cut off from society with little chance of rescue he tries desperately to find a way out. He tries everything from chipping away at the boulder to building a pulley system out of climbing rope, but after a few days he realizes he has to cut his own arm off in order to survive. One of his few possessions is a small video camera on which he records a digital epitaph to his parents and family. Franco brilliantly shows the desperation, symptom of dehydration, delusion and eventually despair of the young hiker. Danny Boyle's direction heightens the sense of isolation as well as explores the need for humans to be a social animal. He also keeps the movie from being just a guy trapped on a rock and transforms it into a tale of rebirth.

Wouldn't be my pick for best picture, but definitely worth the nomination it received.

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