James Franco plays troubled hiker Aron Ralston in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, set to hit cinemas on January 5th 2011
One thing Danny Boyle has down is music. Enlisting film composer A. R Rahman to create an original score and adding to it some hella emotive tracks, he amplifies 127 Hours and exceeds all expectations of what sounds like a pretty dull premise.
In 2003 Aron Ralston set out on a hike across the Canyon lands of Utah on his own. He fell and found himself stuck with his arm trapped under a boulder for five days. 127 Hours is the film adaptation of his autobiographical novel Between a Rock and a Hard Place.
Without overloading his audience with scenes from Aron's past, Boyle creates an impressively organic picture of a man who prides himself on his self-sufficiency. He presents us with a friendly loner who rarely returns calls, pays little attention to his co-workers and has no qualms about documenting his solitary adventures . But there's also a light-hearted, adventurous side to Aron whose recordings and photographs say far more about the man than he does himself .
The film is surprisingly fast-paced considering it's about a guy stuck under a rock. Its rapidity is a reflection of the way Aron's mind works and so are his jokey recordings. Boyle embraces Aron's point of view, his appreciation for the rock formations he explores, his regrets and his memories with ease and assurance. Flashbacks are brief, memories are dreamy, and whilst the audience constantly roots for Aron, we also doubt him.
Boyle also knows how to play with his audience. He hints at the presence of fellow hikers but we're never really sure if they exist. There's a constant sense of trepidation thanks to the inevitable self-amputation and we persistently question whether a rescue team is on their way. When we find out what Aron went on to do, it's no surprise. By the end of the film we not only champion him but we know him too.
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