127 Hours

Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Treat Williams, Lizzy Caplan, Sean Bott
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Rating: R
Genre: Adventure, Drama
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: Adventurer Aron Ralston (James Franco) becomes trapped under a boulder in Utah. No one knows where he is, and he cannot free his arm. As the hours pass, he thinks about his life and how to survive.

Review:

Tim: I was very excited to see 127 Hours. Aron Ralston's story is amazing, and the film has received a great deal of acclaim from critics. I generally like James Franco quite a bit, and I'm always interested to see what Danny Boyle comes up with. While this film is very, very good, and I really, really liked it, I can't help but think it just misses out on being a great film.

This film was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, although it didn't win a single one. That is what this film felt like to me- good enough to be nominated, but not really a true contender. Best Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Adapted Screenplay are all deserving nominations. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, which I am less enthusiastic about. I love that this film received that nomination, but I personally probably would leave this film off my Top 10 list of 2010. I think the film gets close, but just misses out.

The last nomination went to James Franco for Best Actor. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Similar to films like Cast Away, almost the entire film depends upon the performance of James Franco. Besides a few scenes at the beginning and end of the movie, and a few short flashbacks in the middle, this film is completely and totally about Franco. For such a young actor, he does a terrific job of maintaining our attention and interest. He gives an emotional, powerful, impressive performance. He is certainly a talented actor, and I love this chance he got to showcase that talent. This is really Franco's movie, and he makes the most of the opportunity. He connects with the audience and makes you care. And yet, he does this in subtle ways. I didn't even realize he was doing this until the end, when I was surprised at how emotional the conclusion of the film proved to be. That was possible because Franco built up those emotions throughout the entire film.

One of the reasons I didn't love this movie more is that I think Boyle missed a few opportunities here and there. I thought the use of split screens added very little to the film- in many cases, it detracted from it. It felt gimmicky, and a poor choice by director Danny Boyle. I also thought the hallucination scenes were handled a bit sloppily. I didn't feel the emotional punch of these scenes as much as I should have. While the ending is emotional, the film suffered a bit because it telegraphs the ending in the premise, and much of the film feels like you're just waiting to get to the scene where he cuts off his own arm. This can work (see Apollo 13 for how to create true tension and suspense when the ending is already known), but it wasn't as effective here.

I really enjoyed 127 Hours and I loved Franco's performance in it. This is a solid, entertaining movie, and I am so glad this story was told on the big screen. However, I think it missed out on a few opportunities that would make me consider this one of the best films of 2010.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, In the Valley of Elah