Danny Boyle has done it again. Following his hugely successful Slumdog Millionaire, he has created another brilliant movie in 127 Hours. The movie centers on the true story of Aron Ralston (James Franco) who – while mountain climbing in Utah – got his arm lodged under a boulder, where he survived on a small Nalgene of water and a couple scraps of food before cutting his own arm off with a dull multi-tool, 127 hours later. While this may seem pretty dull fare for a feature film, Danny Boyle uses his Millionaire-demonstrated gift for flashback along with pseudo-experimental styling to turn this story into a taut and visually stunning movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat (and induces a few cringes).
What we should get out of the way first is just how brilliantly James Franco plays his role. As much as I may not understand his other artistic pursuits, there is no denying that his role in 127 Hours is award worthy. Aron comes off as a richly complex character, setting out to conquer nature as much as to appreciate its beauty, only to be in turn humbled by his selfishly closed-off approach. Franco perfectly captures the descent from high-energy egoist to a man humbled by the inevitability of his soon-to-be demise. Deprived of sleep, sun, and water, Aron is a man at the brink of his sanity, pushing himself against all odds to cling to the mere hope of life. Boyle let the camera run and Franco made Aron’s pain his own, portraying the desperation of a man on the brink of survival in his weary, dehydrated face.
Aron is not a traditional naturist and 127 Hours doesn’t try to force any reverie on the idyllic power of nature. Aron sets off to conquer the world around him, traveling alone in order to not diminish his accomplishments. Thus, the film contemplates mankind’s imperialistic hubris, his way of trying to possess everything under the sky. However, nature isn’t innocent and it shows its wrath, bringing Aron humbly to his knees.
Through the insertion of a camcorder, Aron is allowed to reflect on the shortsightedness of his actions and the way he cut himself off from those he loved, journaling the failures and regrets of his relations with his family. Boyle deftly combines these moments with flashbacks and dreams. All the while, the broad expanses of Utah’s golden plateaus and images of water reflect the desires of a man trapped and doomed to die. Boyle understands the contemplative power of the image and puts it to full effect here. Indeed, underneath the overt themes of man v. nature and the value of life, 127 Hours is at a level a meta-film. Aron deals with the world around him and even his own emotions through the lens of his camera, much in the same way the movie presents his dilemma to the viewer through the display and juxtaposition of symbolic imagery.
127 Hours is a stunningly beautiful film featuring a great performance and wonderful direction. Boyle and Franco manage to turn what is essentially a one-room drama into a tense story of survival against all odds. Through his beautiful use of imagery, Boyle traps the viewer in that crevice with Aron and makes him feel his pain and despair at a visceral level. As we sit in the crevice with Aron we – like him – get to contemplate the importance of life and the smallness of man. What more can you ask of a film?
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