127 Hours
Danny Boyle is one of the most truly original filmmakers out there right now. Then again, anyone who saw his 1996 breakthrough, “Trainspotting,” could tell you that. There are still a few of his I’ve missed (namely, “The Beach” and “Shallow Grave”), but whether you’re discussing zombies (“28 Days Later”), sci-fi (the flawed “Sunshine”), drama (the underappreciated “Millions”), rom-com (the really flawed “A Life Less Ordinary”) or Oscar winners (2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire”), you can’t miss Boyle’s distinctive intelligence and style.
In many ways “127 Hours” is his boldest film to date. If it’s not quite his best, that’s only because of the nature of the story (even at a reasonably brisk 90-plus minutes, it could have used a bit of trimming around the edges). Don’t worry, though; Boyle and “Slumdog” screenwriter Simon Beaufoy have a doozy in store in adapting Aron Ralston’s memoir about the five-plus days Ralston (an adventurer and loner) spent trapped by a boulder in a Utah canyon in 2003. Food and water in minimal supply and no cell phone, he had the audacity to not tell anyone where he was going. A cell phone would never have made a difference in his remote location, but needless to say, the latter anyway is not a mistake he would make again… provided he was able to survive this mistake.
Aron is established early on as a smart, charismatic young man. One look at how he interacts with a couple of female hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) and you can see his ladies’ man persona… if he was interested in such things. Another thing you see about Aron– he’s also one who goes his own way through life; he lets calls from his mother (Kate Burton, seen in flashbacks/hallucinations with Treat Williams as Aron’s father) and sister (Lizzy Caplan) go to the answering machine while he walks around his apartment. It should come as little surprise that getting trapped by a boulder is quite a wake-up call for Aron, who turns on his trusty video camera to leave messages to anyone who might see it one day. In a way, the video camera becomes his “Wilson,” the volleyball that helped Tom Hanks keep his sanity in 2000’s “Cast Away,” a film “127 Hours” resembles at times but rises above by being based on a tremendous true story.
Boyle directs with his signature flash and feverish editing and sound design style (kudos to the score by A.R. Rahman and camerawork by cinematographers Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak) without ever losing touch with the story. And as Aron, James Franco is a revelation. Yes, the Oscar host and nominee has been strong in everything from “Milk” to “Pineapple Express” to Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, but he takes it to a new level with Boyle behind the camera. He is equally adept at bringing Aron’s recklessness, charisma, and growing pain out in a performance that goes where the situation dictates. It’s a whirlwind of a role, and– even when the energy sags –so is the movie.
