Great 'trapped in a single location' film

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2012)

I'm a sucker for these types of films: you know, where one or more characters are stuck in a situation and have to use their brains to get out of it. Films like CUBE, FROZEN, some parts of the SAW series, hell, even going back to the '80s with the likes of EVIL DEAD 2, I love the freedom that one or a small group of actors on a single set brings.
The much-hyped 127 HOURS comes to us based on a true story, which has both good and bad points. The good side is that it enhances the 'it could happen to you' feeling while you're watching. The bad side is that most viewers will already know the ending before they start watching.
Nevertheless, this turns out to be a great and gripping movie, even if I did know what happened beforehand. Danny Boyle, who I haven't always liked in the past (I hate TRAINSPOTTING with a vengeance), manages to keep the film pacey and engaging despite not much happening for the duration. He uses frenetic camera-work, flashbacks, monologues and snapshots of the beautiful, arid locales to great effect.
This is a film that emphasises realism above all else, and again, there are good and bad sides to that. James Franco (delivering a solid performance) plays a guy who isn't exactly likable or sympathetic, yet that serves to make the tale that unfolds all the more believable. Yes, 127 HOURS contains one of the most excruciating sequences ever put on film, but it's not really about the visceral side of the experience: it's instead a great psychological study of the human mind put in a situation with seemingly no way out.