CAST: James Franco; DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle; AUTHOR: Aron Ralston; SCREENPLAY: Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy; PHOTOGRAPHY: Anthony Dod Mantle; MUSIC: A.R. Rahman; GENRE: Thriller; RUNNING TIME: 1 hour and 33 minutes
Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 3
CINEMA Rating: V14
127 Hours is the true and tragic but triumphant story of Aron Ralston, an experienced mountain climber, as powerfully told by Director Danny Boyle and excellently portrayed by the talented actor James Franco. Cocky with self-confidence, twenty seven year old Aron Ralston ventures alone into the Blue John Canyon in Utah, for some climbing and exploring which he does with much exhilaration. Moving around with some familiarity of the territory, he comes across two female hikers Megan (Amber Tamblyn) and Kristi (Kate Mara) who lost their way and he helps them get to their destination. Shortly after, Aron has an accident. He falls down to the bottom of a shaft where a big rock crushes his arm and pins it against a tunnel wall. Unable to free his arm in spite of all his valiant efforts, survival skills and the use of limited tools, he remains trapped within a narrow space for 127 hours, a little more than 5 days from the end of April to the beginning of May 2003. A loner, he left home without telling anyone. He realizes he can die here without anyone knowing where he is. Now, he knows no help is forthcoming. With his camcorder, he does a video of his thoughts and experiences with the hope that whoever finds it may return his body to his parents. Subjected to vagaries of the weather, hunger and thirst, he has dreams and visions. But in spite of his “half-crazed state” he continues his efforts and is determined to live. How does Aron beat the odds? The viewer may be interested in knowing the details.
The film is based on the autobiography of Aron Ralston entitled Between a Rock and a Hard Place which focuses mainly on his particular searing ordeal in the Canyon. Director Boyle has succeeded in transforming a relatively simple survival tale into a singularly intense cinematic experience. He begins with striking, brightly colored visuals and awesome landscape shots to the accompaniment of A.R. Rahman’s throbbing music. These images give us an early insight into the overweening self-worth of the charismatic main character as well as show-off the beautifully photographed vast and rugged setting. In his dynamic storytelling, Boyle successfully captures on the screen the difficulties of the protagonist (as the latter suffers extremes in temperature, dehydration, fatigue, and mental anguish in the face of death) and deftly intertwines these scenes with flashbacks and hallucinations, without much distraction from the storyline. The film builds in intensity (though not in suspense) and has its apex when Aron makes his radical decision and performs the painful procedure on himself in order to live. The scene is unflinching in its realism, stark and graphic. It is difficult to watch and is not for the fainthearted.
James Franco has been known as a support actor in films like the Spider Man franchise but in 127 Hours he has most probably given a career-altering performance. He is on the screen in nearly every frame and often in close-up, so he “carries” the film for more than an hour. His insightful and very good portrayal of his role keeps us interested and engaged all the time. The others in the cast like Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara and Lizzy Caplan do comeo performances creditably.
As mentioned, the film is not for the faint-hearted. Neither is it for the very young. The extreme realism with the violence, gore and self-inflicted pain maybe disturbing for them. But in spite of the negative points, 127 Hours is a life-affirming film. In these days when life is viewed cheap by abortionists and hired killers, a film that champions the value of life is most salutary. This is a story of determination and survival, heroism and courage. When Aron finds himself in the desperate situation when there seems no reason for hope, he does not lose heart; he continues to “fight” it out. He does not give up. He is determined to live. He succeeds but with much pain and sacrifice. He had to give up something in order to have the greater good – his life. We may not be able to do what Aron did, but in other instances when we are faced with a desperate situation in life, we may be reminded of Aron’s predicament. And we remember that the determination to continue trying, even after many failures, maybe rewarded. Or we may be called upon to sacrifice or give up something in order to achieve a greater good. And we might just do that. In a way, he did something heroic: save his life. This film shows or suggests that when one wants to do what is good, often it can be done, even in the face of adversity and difficulty, if one is determined to do it. This film depicts the triumph of the human spirit.
