Review: 127 Hours

127 Hours
In what appeared as smooth and seamless as the lines of the canyon that entrapped his protagonist, Danny Boyle yet again packaged an experimental film in the body of an Oscar bound blockbuster. This highly enjoyable, and engulfing film seems to move at a rabbit's pace, despite its protagonist (played with joie de vivre by the spunky James Franco) being trapped under a rock for most of the running time. Credit must be given to Boyle's frantic thought pattern and his attention to detail. As in his other up tempo frolics, the filmmaker has no qualms with inserting himself into the process. The viewer very much feels the guiding eye of the director from scene to scene and shot to shot. Split screens, extreme shallow depth of field, flash frames, over-exposures, fast motion… This guy uses every trick in the book except the star wipe! Yet, he finds a way to make them all work together, enhancing this very simple and internalized story. Without Boyle's style, you have the potential for a pretentious and indulgent snoozefest. But Boyle's style is pretentious and indulgent, you say. No, I think he very carefully brought in visual elements that elevated the state of Franco's character's mental state pre and post rock encounter. The wild recklessness of Aaron's pursuit of (or escape from) an extreme reality can be found in the frenetic pacing, sweeping arial shots, and sped up split screens. The sobering realizations, and maddening circumstances of Aaron's time stuck in the canyon are mimicked with beautiful and delicate moments of detail. From the ants biting Aaron's face, to Aaron pondering the bottom of his half filled water bottle, to Aaron's final moments with his video camera, we are evolving with our hero. Boyle not only leaves us rooting for Aaron, who initially comes off as a self-righteous jerk, but also has us questioning if we are in fact as potentially courageous and strong as he is. Franco had a part in this as well, although I don't think that it was one of this fine actors greatest performances. I attribute that to a couple of things. First, and in general, I just think that Franco is too nice of a guy at heart to play selfish or even evil characters. Second, I think they were having too much fun making this film. You could definitely feel the actor and the filmmaker acquiring a madness very similar to that of the protagonist. I don't think that Franco did a bad job. I really enjoyed spending all that time with him. There are few actors that I would rather spend that much alone time with. But there just seemed to be a lack of inner depth in Aaron's portrayal. Now, that might have been from distractions of Boyle's style of filmmaking, but none the less, I didn't connect all the way. All in all, a very watchable film about a remarkable story that makes you dread the day you leave home without your Swiss Army Knife.
8.5/10