Review of film: "127 HOURS" ( with James Franco trying to escape from an accident )

Review of film:  “127 HOURS”

Some people are “ADRENALIN Junkies”.  Aron Ralston (JAMES FRANCO) is one of those people--  an engineer by “day”, who loves getting out in nature & doing hiking & rock-climbing & exploring on his “off” days…  As you may know, this film is based on the TRUE STORY of an incident that occurred in 2003…

…  As our story starts, James has an “off” period & happily prepares his equipment to go to the Canyonlands area of Utah.  He purposely isn’t in the “mood” to tell anyone just WHERE he’s going, & that attitude eventually plays an important part in what happens…

…  At one point in his biking & hiking around the canyons, James meets two hiker girls who are LOST.  Kristi (KATE MARA) & Megan (AMBER TAMBLYN) are initially a bit “leery” of the unshaven James, but realize he’s an enthusiastic, knowledgable & helpful person, & happily follow him as he leads them to where they’re going, showing them some “SPECIAL” sights on the way…

…  After parting ways with the young ladies (who invite him to a party they’re throwing soon in the area), James starts exploring more on his OWN.  At one point, while going thru crevice areas, he accidentally falls--  & is stunned that a large ROCK falls “behind” him & suddenly pins his RIGHT ARM between the rock & the crevice wall…

…  Being an experienced climber & all, James has a bunch of equipment in his back pack--  climbing ropes, a multi-tool device (pliers / screwdriver / knife, etc.), flashlite, water bottle, etc.  The story becomes one of his utilizing his equipment & his wits to try to EXTRICATE himself from being pinned between the proverbial -- & literal – “ROCK & a HARD place”…

…  Director Danny Boyle (who did “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”) starts to mix in various FLASHBACK memories for James’ character, including fun times with his father (TREAT WILLIAMS) & mother (KATE BURTON) & other family members, plus an old girlfriend Rana (CLEMENCE POESY), etc….

…  At different points in his circumstances, James shoots VIDEO reports of what has happened & messages to family & friends in case things don’t go well for his plans…  We’re really made to feel a “PART” of what James goes thru--  his running out of water, having too MUCH water (due to rain), his attempts to MOVE the rock (such as by trying to scrape away bits of it, etc.)… 

…  You may well have heard that, in order to get AWAY from being pinned in the crevice, after like 5 days (thus the title of the film), James resorts to some very “DRASTIC” measures to save his life.  It’s very INTENSE, to the point that James has been quoted as telling people to simply CLOSE their EYES if they find the on-screen scenes “too much” to take…

…  A sign of the intensity is how people (including the Black American senior citizen lady to my left) were CRYING at what James’ character does to escape his predicament & stay ALIVE.  At the end of the film, you can see a scene with the REAL Aron as he is nowadays…

…  While the film is a study in a “NEVER give up” way of thinking, essentially, this is really a “1-person” movie.  And that one person --  the often under-appreciated James Franco --  does an EXCEPTIONAL job in the role.  I feel he deserves to be nominated for an OSCAR, & the clever construction of the film might well get director BOYLE a similar nod (tho I think the film itself is a bit too “one-note” to garner a Best Picture nod). 

…  Overall, I’d rate the work a 9 out of 10 stars for its extraordinarily effective storytelling…