127 hours –
Danny Boyle has been a masterpiece on the directive film canvas stemming from 'Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire' to my personal favorites, 'The Beach' and by no short means, the eclectic yet masterfully brilliant stroke, 'Sunshine'. He takes on the inspirational 2003 story of Aron Lee Ralston, engineer-turned-canyoneer, who rose to prominence and into the hearts of America and the World with his heroic story in overcoming a hiking accident.
Ralston’s foray into hiking and climbing was no small hobby, and in 2003, near Utah’s Blue John Canyon, Ralston fell into a wide crevice resulting in a boulder becoming lodged against his right hand, crushing it while maintaining its immovability. Aaron spent the next 5 days isolated, short on food and water, and literally on the verge of death. It was left to him to do the unthinkable to escape.
Boyle used Aron's survival story through his 2004 autobiography 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place' and pursued developing a treatment and film concept steadfastly and stringently with his Slumdog associates, writer Simon Beaufoy and producer Christian Colson (who was joined by John Smithson) and in the latter months of 2010, Boyle’s film would hit screens.
The film kicks off with a cinematic feel and taste similar to 'The Beach', and there’s a prolonged sense of adventure a-coming that whets the appetites. It’s no shock that the sense of endearment with James Franco as Aron will see limits tested, frailty exposed and fragility highlighted; and Franco gives a human, realistically pleasant feel to the viewers. It’s literally as if one were initially watching a documentary. As seen in 'The Beach', Boyle’s aptitude for shoving the beauty of nature, cliffs, mountains, celestial blue waters, grainy sandy rocks that are there for us to be engrained in, as it's in our faces and it outstands. He romantically puts the environment on display to perfection, and seeing the aesthetic beauty of the good ole American outdoors is fascinating. Boyle’s use of sunlight is also one that is emphatically sound when plight strikes our protagonist. Franco’s sense of invincibility, adventure and innocence is one that automatically brings a win out and the viewers to his side, especially knowing the tragedy awaiting. He’s a kid in a candy store and seeing his accident occur so swiftly and non-chalantly that the sense of realism is disturbingly relatable and humanistic.
Seeing Franco’s delusions, bodily yearn for sunlight when trapped to avoid a cold atmosphere, and the altruistic fear that kicks in with shots of adrenaline, are all done immaculately. His survival attitude is scarily profound and real that when we see his humanity with reactions to shortages of food, water and a simple erotic self-indulging moment...it’s quite a beholding sight. Seeing him battle through a deluge of mental tricks, hallucinations and mindgames, and fight the heroic junkie rush of adrenaline echoing and cascading with his shotgun pulse, is done with magnificence and splendor. It’s candid Boyle direction and he has a knack for giving us reality in a firm manner that is void in a lot of cinematic presentations today. Boyle’s typical vision is seen with a vast array of camera angles, and it is portrayed well in a kaleidoscope of shots once Franco finds himself in trouble.
Apathy never sets in and seeing Franco trapped full of fear with no room to spare is sparking and smartly pulled off by Boyle. We get tinge of Robert Carylyle, Mark Strong and Leo Decaprio when they lost their marbles teething at insanity in Boyle’s past films. It’s heartbreakingly effervescent seeing him trapped in nature’s midst as desperation kicks in amidst the horror. With no denizens around and nature’s element teasing with hints of havoc, our lush hero goes from premonition to deluded visions within heartbeats and Boyle completely takes us for a spin with Franco’s overwhelming analysis of Fate and Destiny – it’s a premise and thought that makes you wonder – Was Aron Ralston destined for this?
To fall at that same exact time in the canyons, and fall prey to that same exact boulder that may be millions of years old? The analysis of the stubbornness of our hero to require help or leave messages or indication as to where he’s going or will be...is such a tedious one that it makes our minds chatter- as Aron regrets this. It shows how being the big alpha male who doesn’t need help sometimes will fail...and fall hard. What’s even more rocking to the core, is that the hero decides that Fate and Destiny that may have been sculpted for him to die - are just 2 words that men who are afraid to change the course of their lives...use! Franco’s amazing performance in cutting the buffer that kept him at bay is writhing and gruesome, and done to sheer exactness. The scene of escape is as gritty and as brave...as it defines our protagonist. It’s a heroic and inspirational story and Franco nails it. Boyle’s formula for successful films rears its pretty head again, and like Nolan, if he tells you his formula, he may have to kill you.
This is no fly-by-night shot in the dark Oscar hopeful. It’s a true contender, and seeing Boyle equate a boulder with destiny is simply breathtaking and mindblowing. It’s an action movie panhandling as a drama...or vice versa? Overcoming fear is one thing but executing it is totally a whole new ball game. Admission for help by our hero to the victorious tune of
Sigur Ros also had me giddy. I wondered if 'Kaneda’s Death' would make it into this fim, but A.R. Rahman scored something so beautiful that I had to listen to the soundtrack. Dido also accompanies him in a piece of audio-orgasm. This film is vindictively amazing, and Franco hits the rocks running, and never misses a beat. Ralston would be proud. It’s illicit and worthy of admonishing if you have not learnt at this film’s end, always let someone know your whereabouts in case something goes wrong – from groups to singles! Seeing Franco’s memories and flashbacks are teary, sympathetic and a terrible reality that we may find ourselves in someday. This film’s climatic scene is as brutally real and gut-wrenching as you can get, and nerve-tearing literally...and necessary as you get, but it’s Franco’s confessional to his loved ones that’s just epic, as no one wants to leave such pending messages to kin and lovers. Seeing him torn wondering if this canyon aperture would be his gravesite was quite stunning. This scene is one that I won’t soon forget as it captures raw emotion and pure human tragedy within a fighting soul, and captivated so well that seeing Franco is such a dire state of arrears, definitely made me cringe a few times. Franco, to me, may still not be topping the Bale-Eklund performance from 'The Fighter' (which still ranks as my 2010 fave) but he definitely comes akin to Ryan Reynolds in 'Buried'. His Ralston is a superb performance, in a well-directed film that really does not need to use any other castmembers, and it’s overall, a true tale of inspiration and heroic endeavour. It’s a fresh breath of air and quite enterprising. Boyle added a superbly complied score to this mix, and with his concoction, '127 Hours' proved to be the product of a winning formula. It’s touching and powerful a story of a true fighter and icon in Aron Ralston! Never be afraid to overcome all odds, never give up...your Fate is your own! There is no spirit nor fight stronger than that of the Human Soul!