It has been a decent while since I last watched '127 Hours' (2010), a film that I have always professed to enjoy but remembered very little about. The biggest thing about this film that I always forget is that it is directed by Danny Boyle. I don't know what it is but it just never felt like this was a Danny Boyle film. Going into this film this time around this knowledge was very much at the forefront of my mind. Did it change my viewing experience and general enjoyment of the film to know this? In some ways yes. The film tells the story of Aron Ralston, a canyoneer who got trapped with a boulder on his arm while on one of his expeditions. Trapped for five days, he struggles and fights to survive, often slipping into madness and resorting to the most extreme measures to ensure he escapes with his life.
This film is a film based on a real-life story, and one of the more incredible real-life stories. The fact that Aron Ralston went through what he did and survived is quite incredible and I feel like the film does a very good job of capturing the emotion of these trials. James Franco is given the task of portraying Ralston in the film and I think he does a good job. He sometimes does feel more like he is playing James Franco than a character (an issue I often have with him) but when he gets to the nitty-gritty stuff in the film I think he does a very good job. It is not an easy role to do as he is acting alongside nothing and no one for 90% of the film and he should be applauded for what is an effective, if not a spectacular, performance. The real star of the film is the direction of Danny Boyle. I mentioned earlier that I remembered almost nothing about this film apart from a couple of scenes (including THAT one but we will get to that later). Well imagine my surprise when this film started to throw some properly creative sequences at my face. The opening moments of the film are just non-stop movement. Using a constantly moving camera and split-screen to show Aron preparing for his trip not only gets you involved instantly on a visual level but tells you about Aron's character at the same time. This non-stop all action-adventure of the man is matched by the direction and editing, but it also sets up the audience for the latter stages of the film. By having such a frenetic opening we are almost lulled into a false sense of security and just as we are fully enveloped in this movement Aron becomes trapped and the constant movement of the camera stops dead, tapping the audience with him. This frenetic style of movement and editing comes back in the film later when Aron starts to lose his mind a little bit, again matching the what the camera is doing to what Aron is experiencing. It is a very simple technique but you have to be good to pull it off and Boyle definitely does. There are moments within the film where Aron also has flashbacks to pivotal moments in his life. On a narrative level these do work as they are what eventually give Aron the mental strength to get himself free, but I don't particularly care for them. They aren't very well set up and it doesn't feel like they have much impact on him in general, especially the ones involving an ex-girlfriend who is never mentioned outside of these moments. Yes they fit the narrative in a way, but I think the narrative would have been as strong and probably stronger without them.
If you have read any of my other reviews about films where people are trapped in enclosed spaces you will know that I don't have the best time with due to a mild claustrophobia I suffer with. This film didn't affect me as bad as I was expecting it to, at least not in this sense. I partially attribute to me having seen it before and also me knowing that he would be okay eventually, and there were still moments where the claustrophobic elements fully got to me. This came mostly in a scene where Aron either dreams or hallucinates (it is unclear) a large thunderstorm coming and flooding the ravine that he is trapped in. That scene can fuck off. Not only am I now watching someone unable to move and trapped in an enclosed space but they are also going to drown? I think I'll sit this one out thanks. Fortunately it is a short scene and so I wasn't subjected to two of my bigger fears for too long. Where the film is at its most effective is THAT scene. I say THAT scene because I'm pretty sure everyone and their fish knows about it, but if you don't here is your spoiler warning. I am of course referring to the scene where he cuts his arm off. What makes this scene more effective is that the film builds up to. The scene itself is the third attempt that Aron has had at cutting off his arm and so you're lulled into a false sense of security thinking that this isn't the time. But it is and god is it an effective scene. The use of sound in the scene is incredible, with the filmmakers managing to capture what pain sounds like perfectly. If you think I am talking rubbish I implore you to watch the scene and tell me that every time he hits a nerve and that sharp high pitched whine plays it doesn't perfectly capture pain in sound form. I don't remember the last time a scene gave me such a physical reaction. Every time he hit that nerve and that sound played my eyes closed and I slightly turned from the screen, I couldn't help myself. It is not as gory as I had remembered it being, but the use of editing and sound makes it more extreme and difficult to watch than any extreme scene of gore.
'127 Hours' is a film that I appreciate more having seen it with more knowledge of film behind me. When watching it as a teenager I definitely enjoyed it, but the actual style of the film went over my head, which is a shame because I really enjoy the style of this film. The direction is pretty much top-notch from start to finish and although there are some narrative moments that I feel are unneeded the film does manage to hold your attention for the whole 90 minutes. It has a good central performance from Franco and some creative sequences, as well as one of the most effective moments of body horror I have ever seen. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who hasn't seen it as even if you don't buy into the style of the film the fact that most of what happens in the film really happened is engrossing enough to be worth your time.