127 Hours

Story: The film is based on the real-life adventure of Aron Ralston, as documented in the book Between A Rock And A Hard Place. The extreme biker and climber met with a freak accident in 2003 when his hand got trapped under a boulder during a climbing expedition in Utah. The mountaineer spent five gruelling days all by himself in this life-threatening situation before he could extricate himself and reach out for help. 

Movie Review: After Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle has almost become a homeboy. Everybody knows Danny. Everybody loves Danny. Everybody expects a lot from Danny. And Danny rarely disappoints. 

---

Best Reader's Review

 

It's easy to understand why. Because, like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderberg and the rest of the mavericks, Danny Boyle has evolved a film narrative that is individualistic, eclectic and hard to replicate. Like the other indie folks, Danny too takes up an ordinary story to re-tell it in an extraordinary fashion. So, if Slumdog Millionaire re-invents theMumbai metaphor like never before, then 127 Hours transforms the adventure/disaster story into a hard-hitting steroid shot. 

Technically, 127 Hours is a one-man, one-line story. Adventurist Aron Ralston gets trapped under a bolder in uninhabited canyon country and remains stuck for five days with a video camera, a bit of rope, a cheap knife and a fast depleting water flask. But the genius of Boyle transforms this simple, one-dimensional human survival story into a nerve-wracking drama that never lets you leave the edge of the chair from the very first shot. So what if the film opens with Aron having harmless fun, diving and swimming with two pretty young strangers in the deserted landscape. You know there's danger lurking behind the next boulder, because the film's stunning camera angles (Anthony Dodd Mantle), crisp editing and scintillating music (AR Rahman) create an adrenalin rush right from the word Go. The major part of the film transpires in a static situation: Ralston stuck in a straight jacket with a bolder that refuses to budge even an inch. But the experience is completely kinetic. There, in those expedient circumstances, our hero reminisces about his past, introspects on his relationships, fantasises about love, imagines what he would have done at the Scooby-Do do that he was invited for, plans out his future and even holds a radio talk that is essentially a self-flagellation session. But more than all this, he utters the most important lesson he's learnt. Never buy a Chinese knife, even if it comes cheap, with a flashlight included. The knife's no good, neither at chipping the boulder nor at cutting bone! Hilarious. 

The umpteen Oscar nominations aren't the only reason why you must not miss 127 Hours. You get to discover James Franco in a whole new light, even as Rahman showcases his international flavour, once again. But more than all this, the film is a high-spirited salute to the indomitable human spirit and a grand testament to courage and true grit. Chilling, thrilling and horrifying too, 127 Hours is enthralling cinema.

Posted in: Top Movies Wiki