127 Hours

127 Hours; 95 minutes 2011 (15)

"Between a rock and a hard place"

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The relief in the cinema was palpable. On a wet, January evening, we had all just been privy to what is surely destined to become one of the truly unforgettable experiences in cinematic history.
Director and co-writer Danny Boyle, still flush with success from his Oscar winning and critically acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire gives us 127 Hours, the true story of Aron Ralston, whose inexhaustible thirst for life truly beggars belief.

In 2003, this free spirited outdoorsman recklessly abandoned his job as a mechanical engineer and moved to Aspen, Colorado in order to continue his attempt to climb all 59 of Colorado's mountain peaks over 14,000 feet high. Never in his wildest nightmares can he have envisaged how completely this modest career change would revolutionise his life.

The story is simple, stark and unforgiveable. Ralston goes canyon climbing for the day in Robbers Roost, Utah, home to Butch Cassidy and the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang. Through a freak accident, he manages to get his lower right forearm trapped by an 800lb boulder. Alone in the wilderness, with little water and almost no food, the outlook is terrifyingly bleak. Unforgiveable? He told no-one of his whereabouts. Not a soul.

But Ralston refuses to panic and tries to think his way out of his problem. Over the following 6 days and 5 nights, he tries everything he knows to work himself free using ropes, pulleys and even blunt penknives. But, increasingly dehydrated, his mind begins to wander and he thinks back to family and friends, turning the camera on himself to record his final thoughts. As the lines between his increasingly frequent daydreams and the reality of his situation begin to merge, we sense his reluctant acceptance of an inevitable fate. But in a final epiphany, Ralston refuses to become a victim and, taking control of his destiny, conducts the most gruesome self-amputation in the history of cinema.

James Franco navigates the complexities of Ralston wonderfully well, seamlessly transitioning from arrogant canyoneer to the vulnerable, frightened and yet ultimately resilient survivor he ultimately becomes. Given the minimalist storyline, Boyle is unusually interventionist, utilising a vibrant sound track (ironically, rock music), micro cameras (particularly effective in the base of Ralston’s water bottle) and frequent split screens to compliment Franco’s powerful central performance. The film's essential power however comes not from gimmicks but rather derives from both the veracity of the storyline and from Ralston's simple but profound refusal to indulge in any form of regret or self-pity, other than an ironic "oops" at his ultimately devastating sin of omission.

Verdict
Truly astonishing act of self preservation. Unmissable. 9/10.


Dick Morgan
January 2011