Movie Review: 127 Hours

This year last the past four years, I attended the AMC Best Picture Showcase. The Best Picture Showcase is a special event that is held at select AMC theaters where they show all ten best picture nominated films over two Saturdays. They show five movies each day. 127 Hours is one of the ten best picture nominees. 127 Hours also has five other nominations including Best Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Best Actor (James Franco) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

127 hours is an intense film based on the true story of the misadventures of a young man, Aron Ralston. It is a very graphic film, so much so, that one member of the audience fainted and one member of the audience had a seizure due to emotional trauma. They actually stopped the film and we had to wait on the paramedics to arrive and check out the audience members before we could continue the film. Consider yourself warned about the traumatic nature of this film. That said this is a well done film with a lot to say. The acting is great and there is some beautiful scenery and some interesting camera work as well.

Aron, James Franco, is an adventurous young man who is a bit of a loner. He routinely hikes and repels alone in Utah on his days off. He has no connections and avoids his family. Like any other weekend Aron takes off on an adventure but tells no one where he is going. He would not be missed unless he does not show up for work on Monday. Aron chooses the canyon he wants to repel and makes his way towards the canyon. Walking along the cracks in the canyon, he makes a faulty move and a rock dislodges pinning his hand to the wall of the canyon. He is low on food and water. He spends the next 127 hours trying to survive by any means possible while trying to devise a way to get loose. He also becomes very introspective about life. He considers how he has treated past girlfriends and family and vows to make amends and live a different life should he survive. Having a video camera with him, he tapes himself for his family should he not get free and someone should find his body. It's a tragic story that could happen to anyone hiking or repelling alone. But it is also a journey of growth of a young man's spirit as he transitions from being isolated in life to integrating his life with people that he loves. In nearly dying, he learns how to appreciate life and live. It is based on a true story which makes it all that much more poignant.

There is some great cinematography in this film. There are some great scenery shots of Utah. Wherever they filmed this movie was gorgeous. There are also some interesting interior shots of things including shots from inside containers, and even inside Aron's body. There was some really unique camera work in this film.

The acting by James Franco is the cornerstone of this film. I mean for the most part we are watching a man pinned to a canyon wall. If you don't see the pain, fear, and revelation on Franco's face; then you don't believe in the story and the movie is a failure. Fortunately, Franco makes us believe in the pain, fear, hopeless, and in his life's revelation. We believe in and like Franco's character and we want him to survive. We feel for this character the way we would feel for the real Aron who went through the actual ordeal. This makes the graphic nature of this film all that much more horrifying.

Overall, I wouldn't say I enjoyed this film but I respect it. It is horrifyingly graphic. I cried and nearly threw up and I am a biology teacher. That's saying something. I like the message of this film of transitioning from isolation to integration into life. And loving and respecting people while you are in their life or while they are in yours. It is a great film and a story that I think needed to be told. Few are we who are scared into living life. I don't think it will win best picture. But if you can stomach it then you should see it.