Film Review: 127 Hours

Of all the films I expected to see before the end of last year, 127 Hours was probably the most disappointing missed opportunity. It's kind of difficult to write something that hasn't already been said about the film at this point. Plenty believe that the entire film is about the crucial climactic scene that everybody has to talk about at one point or another. It's plenty more than that, although this is probably the most simple film in the Best Picture race this year. That doesn't necessarily count against it, and it actually works as the feature-length equivalent of a short story. The primary obstacle that the film must face is how to keep an audience interested and invested in a film that spends a great deal of it's run time in one single area.

Quite a few films last year have dealt with isolation, and I'm not just talking 127 Hours and Buried. The Social Network and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 also dealt with those issues, albeit in a much more conventional way. 127 Hours goes for the unconventional road, much like the main character. It's the story of Aron Ralston, a mechanic with great confidence in his own ability to survive on his own. He displays an isolationist attitude, trying at every chance to escape the derivative bustle of the cities, and that leads him on a solo rock climbing trek. Oh, and then he gets his arm pinned against a wall by a large and immovable boulder.

I've been generally surprised by how many films this year have been so relatable to me, so it was nice that I could relate Aron Ralston to somebody other than myself. After the fifteen minute opening, I couldn't help but see a little bit of my older brother in him. That probably means nothing to those who live far outside the state of New Hampshire, but it's nonetheless true. He's overly confident that he can succeed in situations where others would crack, but there's always a point where it's unbearable. James Franco does a brilliant job capturing that slow and gradual descent from airhead to delirium. It never feels forced, as if the hallucinations are just coming in full force like a switch has been turned on. All the slight treats of warmth, water, and even familiar company are taken away gradually, and it all feels rather believable.

The cinematography has the gloss and colorful flourishes stripped away from it, leaving a cold tone similar to pale image of a video camera. There's never a moment when it's just sitting around in some mundane position. There's always some flash of movement. A.R. Rahman follows up his award winning soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire with a kinetic and quick minded score indicative of an action feature, which it feels a lot like in certain sequences, not the least of which is the climactic scene everyone talks about. In a strong year for directors, it shouldn't be an insult to say that Danny Boyle comes in fourth place behind David Fincher, Christopher Nolan, and Darren Aronofsky. To come off such an underdog success and deliver a film like this is an impressive feat. There have been so many films that have canned the idea of a happy ending, because that's not the way life is. There's misery and pain all around, but 127 Hours shows how precious life is, and how pathetic things are when it's taken away. It doesn't touch the poignancy of 2010's more tragic films, but it's the most affective telling of that story, and it'd be worse if it wasn't told at all.

B+