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Saturday, January 8, 2011

127 Hours

Directed by: Danny Boyle
UK release date: Jan 07 2011
US release date: 12 November 2010
Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Clémence Poésy, Kate Mara



IMDB Page

He said:

This is the second film based on a true story that Helen and I have reviewed this week and I can say from all reports that this film is more accurate and true to it's inspiration than any film I have seen before it. This is another film that does not invoke that need that need to have repeated viewings, but it is a film that is a must see and when released on DVD will be a must own.

James Franco portrays Aron Ralston brilliantly and has already been nominated for Best Male Performance of the year for both the Golden Globes and the Oscar's and is likely to nab a BAFTA nomination as well. It is no easy task to carry a feature length film almost completely on your own (ala Tom Hanks in Castaway or Ryan Reynolds in Buried) but Franco has shown both his skill as an artist and his talent as an entertainer.

My only real complaint with this film is Danny Boyle's apparent need to spice it up with random choppy delusion sequences that did not really differentiate themselves from reality. While I acknowledge that a couple of these might have been intentional I doubt that scenes like the lightning storm were meant to distract and ultimately pull the audience away from the film as it did for me.

The rest of the cast in this film served mostly as bookends and I think it would be unfair to expect any of the characters they portrayed to stand out in the way that Franco did. It was nice to see Amber Tamblyn (Sister Hood of the Traveling pants, Joan of Arcadia) in a film again. This is a fantastic Film I give it {{{4.5 out 5}}}

She said:

As James said, much like The Way Back or Buried this certainly isn't a film you would want to watch repeatedly. There were too many conflicts going on in my mind during the film that I couldn't deal with over and over! It is the only film I have seen that has given a sense of both claustrophobia and agoraphobia at the same time. It also made me want to become a canyoneer and never become a canyoneer at the same time.

The overall structure of the film was good. The first part of the film builds up Aron's personality a cocky thrill seeker, which creates a nice contrast when he becomes stuck and helpless. I would have liked a bit more of this vulnerability to come out throughout the 127 hours though as I think Danny Boyle verged on overkill with hallucinations and delusions.

I felt that there could have been more nods towards the time passing. Although Aron looks at his watch constantly I don't think I really understood how long the time felt to him. This is not to the detriment of James Franco's acting I should point out; he gave a stella performance in an intense and very much a solo role. The vast range of emotions Aron went through was well played and Franco drew you in and held your attention.

I really enjoyed this film although there were a few qualms. However it was a thrilling and astonishing story of human endurance and it is not one to be missed. I give this film {{{3.5 out of 5}}}

They said: This is a film that never loses momentum and constantly tightens it's grip on the audience. Easily a must see film. We give it [[[8 out of 10]]]

Question of the day: Do you enjoy films inspired by real events or do you prefer your films to be solid fiction?

THE FOLLOWING LINKS ARE ABOUT THE TRUE STORY AND THEREFORE CONTAIN SPOILERS:

Aron Ralston's Blog

Video one year later

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1 comment:

  1. I've been really wanting to watch this, but it's not around here. I'm scared of being completely uncomfortable in it. I have a love/dislike relationship with James Franco.

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