It's Not About The Arm

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2010)

You have probably heard the story about the man that went canyoneering, alone, in Utah in 2003, not telling anyone where he was going. Five days later he emerged out of the Utah canyons, missing an arm. He had become wedged between a rock and a hard place (literally) and eventually had to cut his own arm off in order to survive. If you were like me you probably thought to yourself, "Wow, what an awful experience, I bet that sucks. Oh well, back to my life." The truth is that the self amputation handiwork is not even close to what the man, Aron Ralston, had to go through for the first 124 hours of his ordeal. Having read "It's Not About the Bike" by Lance Armstrong, I think it is fair to compare the two stories not only about survivorship but also about the bigger picture in which we call "life." You have probably also heard how Armstrong survived testicular cancer to go on to win the Tour De France seven times. Again you might have thought to yourself "Wow, he had a small bout with cancer and now everything is all right. Oh well, back to my life." The severe gravity of these situations don't settle in until you hear or see the personal stories of what these individuals endured to earn their lives back. Danny Boyle, is the director who helped bring Ralston's excruciating story to the screen in "127 Hours." Boyle, with an eclectic resume including a movie about heroin addiction ("Trainspotting"), a movie about two youngsters finding a bag of money ("Millions"), and a Bollywood movie ("Slumdog Millionaire"), focused on the events that put the viewer in Ralston's position then made that viewer understand that there was only two ways out of the cavern.
We start the story with Ralston (played by James Franco) driving out to the Utah canyons while inconveniently forgetting his Swiss Army knife at home (he would need that later). He runs into two young female hikers and introduces them to an underground swimming hole. Not knowing these are the last two people he will have contact with for quite some time.
After parting ways with the hikers, Ralston tumbles down a narrow canyon and his right arm becomes wedged between a small boulder and the canyon wall. He has the exact same reaction that I would have, "AGGHHHH!!!" I understood his anger because I too would react in the same way. I too would not accept my situation. I too would be cursing at the rock.
Before this movie, I did wonder how Boyle was going to keep us engaged for the length of the film. It's a hard task considering Ralston was in one place for five days. Boyle, along with Franco's brilliant acting, was able to keep us flowing from day to day. Sure there are the flash back scenes and a few Scooby-Doo induced hallucinations. But, the one thing that kept my attention was what Ralston actually did while trapped in the crevice. He had a video camera and he videotaped himself giving an ultimate gratitude list to his parents and friends. Even in his dying hours, he wanted his parents to know how he felt about them. He even went as far as producing a humorous morning talk show with himself. It was real, and it worked. That video is now in a safety deposit box where only a few sets of eyes have seen it.
Should you see this movie? Yes, but don't see it because a guy cuts off his arm to survive. See it because you want a story about why a guy cuts off his own arm to survive. See it because you need to know the answer to what you would do if you were in Ralston's predicament. See it because you are the type of person (to quote an earlier Boyle movie) to "choose life" and you know deep down inside that there is a force driving you.