127 HOURS (2010)Director: Danny Boyle
Stars: James Franco
It's the latest film from director Danny Boyle, which recounts the true life story of Aron Ralston, a hiker who ended up getting himself trapped in a canyon in Utah. James Franco plays the lead, and essentially only, role. Ralston does run into a couple of fellow hikers at the beginning (Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn), but if you've seen the trailers, you've seen most of their interaction; this is the Franco show, through and through. Once he gets himself stuck, it becomes an intimate journey into both the physical realities of his situation, as well as his flights of fancy.
I heard that Cillian Murphy, Boyle's star of 28 Days Later, was his first choice for the lead. Franco was the better choice. Murphy can pull off "sexy", but he's not so good at "charming", which is important when your protagonist is, frankly, kind of a dumbass. Franco makes you really care about this guy who did just about everything wrong, but has so much passion for life and nature. A good portion of the movie involves him either not talking or barely talking, but you always know what's going on in his head.
This isn't out of step with Boyle's previous work, and continues his use of "fly-on-the-wall" cameras, and exploration of the nature of fate. The best comparison would be to Leo going nuts in the jungle in The Beach, or MacGregor's toilet diving in Trainspotting; this is a man gone mad, not the world at large, such as in 28 Days Later or A Life Less Ordinary.
He makes effective use of two DP's this time: Anthony Dod Mantle, his DP of choice since 28 Days Later, and Enrique Chediak, who did 28 Weeks Later, along with several other films. They have similar styles, so it was difficult to tell who did what, but Enrique's stuff tends to be a bit more "slick", so I'm guessing that Mantle's focus may have been on the blatantly handheld shots.
The soundtrack, and sound, are the main reasons to see this in the theater. Boyle is a master of utilizing pop music in scenes, and the original score by A.R. Rahman is just as infectious and haunting as his work on Slumdog Millionaire. And, most importantly of all, it's the sound of fingers gently brushing stones, water being sucked down, and bones being stretched to their limit that really puts you in the moment.
So, all in all, a good time. More or less. A warning; this is fairly intense, and bloody, at times, so I would warn the timid to either stay away, or come in prepared. Otherwise, this is a movie that I would recommend to people in most of the demographics in my life (Parents, good friends, shady friends, employees at restaurants I frequent). Despite the "one location" gimmick, Boyle does a good job of propelling the story forward, and there are lots of flashbacks in case anyone is in danger of falling asleep.
Any beefs? Yeah; I guess, ultimately, I didn't really care all that much. It's a well made movie, but I didn't really find myself that interested in the story, and I don't feel compelled to ever watch it again. Mary Tyler Moore got it right; an elephant crushing a man dressed as a peanut is ultimately more humorous than sad. So, a dude trained in mountain rescue who gets himself trapped. . . Granted, the movie acknowledges the irony, thereby emphasizing the fatalism even more, but it wasn't quite enough for me. I stand by my assertion that the movie won't be boring for most people, but I found myself getting twitchy from time to time.
FREDERICK OPINES: GOOD
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