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Let me begin with the confession that I have not seen 127 Hours in its entirety. I caught glimpses of the climax through my fingers, which were covering my eyes. But soon I got so nauseous that I had to run out of the theater. Why? Because 127 Hours ends with self-amputation.
Aron Ralston, played impeccably by James Franco, who has had his right-arm pinned under a rock for 127 hours ends his imprisonment, by snapping his bone against the rock and then sawing through his arm with a blunt knife. At one point, he applies a scissor to a stubborn tendon.
Like the extreme sport that Ralston thrives on, 127 Hours is an extreme movie. It puts you through the wringer. So before stepping in, ask yourself: is this what I'm in the mood for today? If the answer is yes, you are in for a treat because 127 Hours is exuberant filmmaking.
The film is a well-known true story based on Ralston's book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. The plot holds no surprise.
Ralston, a fanatical outdoorsman, is hiking alone in Utah, when he falls into a narrow rock opening and his arm gets stuck under a rock. He hasn't told anyone before leaving so there is little chance that someone will come looking for him. All Ralston has are meager supplies, a multi-tool knife, a video camera and his own ingenuity and resolve to survive.
This is a tough story to tell and yet, director Danny Boyle immerses you into it so totally that you almost stop breathing.
Like his lead character, Boyle's camera is frantic as it captures Ralston careening thorough the surreal, almost otherworldly landscape. Ralston is lord of all that he surveys. He knows every nook and crevice - early in the film, he shows off his knowledge and considerable skills by revealing a gorgeous hot pool under a sheer drop to two attractive women hikers. But the implacable rock surprises him by pinning him down with such finality that death seems imminent.
As he moves between hope and despair, hallucinations and dreams, Ralston understands the importance of those he loved and his supreme arrogance and selfishness. He says: This rock has been waiting for me my entire life. Every action I've ever taken has been leading me to this crack on the earth's surface.
Inevitably, the film sags at mid-point. After all, how much can you do with a man trapped in a canyon? Also, the screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Boyle, doesn't gut you emotionally because Ralston seems almost cocky and too clinical about his predicament, which is perhaps what enabled him to stay alive.
But Franco's performance is consistently astounding. He propels the narrative.
127 Hours isn't easy viewing but if you are willing to be brave, the rewards are plenty. I recommend that you catch it. And if gets too tough, like me, you can always resort to running out of the theatre.
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