Perfectly made

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2011)

When I saw this film's trailer I have to say I was not too excited about seeing it. I thought to myself how could the tale of a man being trapped by a rock be thrilling. But i was proved wrong. Danny Boyle has once again outdone himself. His creativity has turned something which could have been very average into a great piece of cinema.
I loved this film from the first second to the last. The first quarter of an hour or so before Aron (James Franco)gets trapped is as well made as the rest of it. Although arguably having little relevance to the main plot this prelude perfectly shows Aron's buzzing character. The majority of this film though takes place in the canyon where Aron gets trapped. From this point the audience is thrust into a thrilling battle for survival. James Franco expertly portrays the emotions of his character who at first thinks its crazy that he has got himself into his situation but who then quickly realizes that he will have to fight for his life.
We slowly see Aron's degression into a delusional state as time goes on. Boyle cleverly interjects memories from Aron's life to both take a break from the character's ordeal but mainly to give more depth to his character. We both see positive memories such as scenes with his Dad when he was a child but also negative memories such as with his former girlfriend who says he will be lonely forever. There is one great scene where he pretends to be on a morning talk show which shows his anger, idiocy and ability to make jokes in his horrific situation all at once.
As his desperation increases we see him being freed from the rock in a storm however Boyle quickly makes it apparent that this was just a dream or a delusion emphasizing the reality of his situation. Then finally he has to decide whether to die or cut himself free. In a scene realistic but not too gruesome we see himself hack through his own arm in agony, finally after immense pain freeing himself (this time for real)from the rock.
This film concludes by showing the real Aron Ralston who said himself that this film was so realistic it could have been a documentary. It is definitely a must see, both Franco and Boyle deserved Oscar wins.