127 Hours (2010)

So did you guess which movie I watched today? The clue was '5 days 7 hours'.

And the answer is... 127 Hours. If you did get it, congratulations you don't win anything. If you didn't, better luck next time fool muahahahaha.

If there's one lesson this film can teach you, it's this:

ALWAYS GO CANYONEERING IN GROUPS

Anyway, 127 hours is based on the true story of Aron Ralston who had his arm trapped between a fallen rock and the wall of a canyon for(you guessed it) 127 hours until he decided to amputate it himself. It's directed by Danny Boyle and stars James Franco as Ralston. Franco does a great job of keeping our interest the entire film, something I think that could be very hard if it were another actor. You don't get sick of Franco, he holds your attention without being overly melodramatic about it.

The film starts off at this rapid pace, you struggle to keep up with Aron, he's some kind of adrenalin junkie. And then when he gets stuck, things slow down, it all goes quiet, it becomes dark. Aron is forced to stop, it's as if the world has stopped. You're stuck in a tiny nook, but rather than keeping us stuck there in this tiny enclosed space, we travel outside with Aron through flashbacks and hallucinations. This is where we get a sense of who he is. I think it's a good idea Boyle didn't have the whole film done in the cave, it needs the flashbacks and outer noises to break up the monotony. It's what stops this movie from feeling like it's been going for 127 hours.

Since I'm slightly squeamish, I did look away during the amputation scene(tried not to, failed miserably) but I did find myself wanting him to get rid of that arm, you're anticipating it the whole time because you know it's inevitable. It really teases the audience. You're almost egging him on to do it anytime he grabs that knife. After the amputation part you actually feel kind of happy for him(is it weird to feel happy for someone who just cut off their own arm?), it's like after that point he can just get on with his life.

The only part I had trouble with was the part at the very end(I'll try not to give it away). For me it was a bit too convenient, it's kind of there only to tie up loose ends and explain things that don't really need to be explained. Others might like the clarity but I thought it wasn't necessary.

I think that's all I have to say for today... I'm sleep deprived, so any minute my head may fall straight onto the keyboard.

And I'll be writing again tomorrow, same time, same place, different film.