A Decent Movie

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2011)

I have to admit off the bat that I'm not part of a big fan base when it comes to Danny Boyle. He's made movies that were valuable to my collection, but he never seemed to give me any emotional resonance or even that much extensive thought after his movies were over; you hit play and then subsequently when it's over you press off and don't even have a second's thought.
Here, I rented this with not a lot of tentativeness, even though I wasn't a disciple of Boyle beforehand; but James Franco gave a better than expected performance (I have to admit from "Milk" (2008) he never really impressed me and I didn't really have any empathy for him; I found him dull and one dimensional; that's not saying he didn't do well, but he didn't do AS well as I would have thought).
The movie is on a true story, and I was then hooked to the idea of watching it; the beginning is already giving you catalysts of the need for water; it was moderately interesting how the three sights on screen were sometimes edited together in a sinew of images, like Franco (Aron Ralsto in the movie) going past a McDonalds joint and drinking on the way; initially, you notice a tap dripping, dripping and dripping... the only place left where he could fetch water.
However, he still has the teenager and reckless life style, and yet is still extremely lively as a human being. He meets these two girls, and he shows them the sites of Utah.
Boyles' cinematographer gives the landscape great width, predictably and uninhibited crane moves into the field of it; however, it does not add much to the story, but it is still immensely enticing to gaze at. We get a full glance at the area that Aron climbs regularly.
And of course, Franco falls into the cave, and his hand is stuck underneath a rock; I would have thought that the whole thing would be boring after that, and then I was immersed into the common, yet fascinating back story of his life, and how he copes in the whereabouts with such little advantage; it grinds on the visceral and nostalgic and hopeful future that compels one man without any help to go way and beyond. It does have some shocking bits, but all in all, it can be dampened with the chopping and pretenses that he is about to do it, and then stopping. Also, I feel it is heavily inspired by Aronofsky's editing style, where the water is involved (the only thing he can drink) and then it may shoot a trivial and important thing at the same time, like the juice from his car. However, my favorite bits were definitely when he exchanged his sorrows so that he could replenish his hope, like telling his Mum he's sorry he didn't answer her or how he was unable to attend her Sister's Wedding and so on; he does this in a humorous and moving way.
I also love how his camera is constantly being used; however that was rather mind boggling because you're wondering "Why is this guy using his camera within such a limited time of survival?"... at least he wanted to document his last times, but he doesn't even take the camera with him when he escapes... However, the camera is there for his comfort as well; it's his only tool that could have been his last means of communication - there was also a scene where his face is in three frames concurrently through the camera, however this is not important.
The charm to it is that everything he sees and feels in his state becomes his only instinct - he yearns for the open area just like any man would and yet he does it with some pretty savage consequences. The movie even beguiles you at one point with how he gets out in a sequence! It is important to note that the story doesn't have a moral and in fact the ending is possibly not going to gel with everyone and that was it really.
So my last thoughts on the movie are that Boyle has set up a surface and a peregrination for the viewer; he may then take it away for the character to be developed but I am certain that the most powerful elements are definitely the cautionary thought and careful consideration of one man forsaken and then impelled to the edge. The movie does run its course eventually, though, but it's safe to say the scene where he saves himself was worth the wait in the way it was shot with sufficiently mind altering effects... we are then free and so is he! That's the brilliant thing about the movie despite minor flaws with its timing and the characters bold and unidentifiable way... and then you see him develop and you're moved by it.