127 Hours (2010) R

127 Hours became available to view just a few days ago around these parts. I knew it would be good, but I also knew it could be a bit of a letdown because of all the hype. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine) is one of the ten best living directors without a doubt (in my opinion), and he rarely disappoints. He combined once again with Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) to write the fantastic script. This was a huge opportunity for James Franco (Pineapple Express, Spider-Man), and he shines. This film is of course based on the true survival story of Aron Ralston. Ralston was and is still an extreme outdoors-man, rock-climber, mountain biker and so on and so forth. This film is based on Ralston's book (Between a Rock and a Hard Place). I'd find it hard to believe if you told me you don't already know what happens in the end, but knowing what happens makes no difference.

The film begins with Aron (James Franco) setting out for a weekend of adventure in the Utah desert. He sleeps in his car on Friday night, and Saturday morning he hops onto his bike and hits the dusty trail. After a few hours of biking and climbing he runs into a couple of lost young women. Kristi (Kate Mara) and Megan (Amber Tamblyn) are a little intimidated at first, but soon warm up to the unusual Aron. He leads them to their destination and shows them one of his special spots where they get more acquainted. They spend a few hours together and go their separate ways. Aron promises to come to their party that they're throwing in a few days.

There's still plenty of sun for Aron to utilize, so he goes for a hike and takes in the beautiful scenery. His day seems to be going perfectly until he steps onto a large, loose rock and falls into a narrow passage. Which in itself wouldn't be of much harm, but a boulder becomes jarred loose and pins his hand and forearm against the rock wall. The boulder probably weighs close to 2000 pounds and is an immovable object. The odds of this happening is extremely low. 127 hours has now begun.

There is little hope to save his hand as it was crushed and turns blue within minutes. Aron screams in pain at first, but it isn't long before a look of disbelief comes across his face. How could this have happened? Aron tries over and over again to push the boulder off his hand, but he realizes that it's no use. He takes out all his resources and materials from his backpack and tries to come up with his next move. He has a dull knife and spends the rest of the night trying to slowly chip his way out. No luck.

He has one bottle of water and a small amount of food. He knows he can probably only last 2-3 days, unless somehow someone finds him. He failed to tell anyone where he was going. No one will no he's missing until at least Tuesday afternoon when he doesn't show up for work. It will then take 24 hours until the missing person's report is filed. Less than 48 hours in, Aron begins day-dreaming and borderline hallucinating. He reminisces of better times with his mother (Kate Burton), father (Treat Williams) and sister (Lizzy Caplan). Aron also documents his predicament with his video camera. He says his last goodbye's and tries to stay sane by recording certain events.

I could go on and on about the insane things he does to survive, but I'd rather you see it for yourself. There are four or five absolutely fantastic scenes, which is quite impressive because 90% of the film takes place in that narrow passage. The flashbacks and the premonitions are effective. I have one thing that I didn't like about this film, and it's a small one. It's NOT long enough. One hour and 35 minutes simply wasn't enough for me. There most certainly should've been more of a lead-up and more flashbacks. But I think that was Boyle's intention, straight to the point.

While this wasn't one of the five best films of 2010, it's certainly in the top 20 (if not the top ten). Franco has never been better and possibly never will act at this level ever again. There are very few rewarding moments in this film, as the majority of it is hard to watch and will make you cringe or look away. But that shouldn't stop you from seeing it though. 127 Hours is simply a can't miss, as are most of Danny Boyle's films. Please do yourself a favor and see this wonderful film! But brace yourself.
A