Rating of
4/4
127 HOURS from The Media Mashup
Mark - wrote on 01/11/11
A couple of weeks before I saw this I watched BURIED (another film about someone trapped and secluded in a desperate situation) and, while I was surprisingly captivated by a whole film set inside a box underground, I preferred this new Danny Boyle effort a lot more.
The style of the film, especially the editing and music (the score was done by the same guy who worked on SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) was the main pull for me. The start of the film with Franco's adventurous character chartering all sorts of terrain and meeting a couple of girls on the way was fun and entertaining, even knowing his unfortunate fate was right around the corner.
It's no spoiler that our protagonist gets his arm trapped literally between a rock and a hard place, and has to go through mental and physical trials to survive his situation, and it is the time spent with him that also frustrates as we watch him go up and down from a positive mood to gloom and despair, and back up again, etc. The bulk of the film relies on Franco's likeable character (real life climber Aron Ralston) , and the ways he deals with the situation, sometimes creating bizarre hallucinations - Scooby Doo! - or memory flashbacks. One scene where he interviews himself (complete with audience laughter and applause) was both amusing and sad simultaneously.
Danny Boyle is another director I'm certainly excited to see what else he's got up his sleeve as I'm loving his style and approach. Check this out!
