A thrilling and real story about a man against himself

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2011)

When you go to see Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" you simply have two choices just like the main character trapped in the canyon: or you watch it or leave it behind without seeing a thing. But if you want to see be aware of everything that comes on the story of Aron Ralston and don't expect to find a howling message than the ones given by the main character in some scenes. It's indeed a real story but it doesn't fills us with morals, messages or anything similar which is very common in real life stories. Perhaps the biggest lessons you can learn with "127 Hours" is always bring a cellphone wherever you'll go, and always, always, tell to everyone you know where are you going, just in the case you get lost in the middle of the desert, with your arm trapped in a canyon, without water to drink and other disasters.
This is a movie about what happened to Aron (played by James Franco) and all his ways of survival during those five days with his arm stuck in a canyon in the desert without a phone, not able to call for any help and with his water stock running out, and with only had two choices while being there: death a slowly death or cut off his arm with a knife. Second option is the chosen one and is the most awaited moment in the film. The amputation scene (filmed in one take) is frightening with some good sound effects mixed with the background music.
Everything is thrilling here, from the minute where Aron's adventure begins up until his tough and difficult moments in the canyon, thinking about his family and some imaginary moments of a future life outside of the canyon, and his moments after getting out of there. This is a one man show and Franco carries the whole film in a heartbreaking performance. A movie depending on his main star is very difficult to be made and to audiences like (being Tom Hanks in "Cast Away" a rare successful example) but Boyle surely found his actor here. Franco is excellent in the whole drama, he's very believable in the risky scenes climbing the canyons, you really can believe that he's a adventurer (although a little bit silly).
But if the dramatic scenes, and his breakdown moments are great and conduces the film, it is a funny and surprising moment that really caught my attention, and that is the "Good Morning" scene, a hilarious and positive moment where Aron makes fun of himself while in the canyon, creating a TV show where he interviews himself telling his whole situation there. Just a reminder of how positive someone could be even in a dramatic and tense situation, not everyone can do that, and he managed to lighten up the tension of a story that at no point makes us feel distracted, calm, or uninterested. It holds the viewers in the chair at every second, every minute in its short running time.
"127 Hours" doesn't want to deliver a message, or be preachy about anything, it's not philosophical. It is simply a real life event that urges the viewers to see the man's struggle in a shocking event where he only has two choices and both of them are not that good and he's the only one who can do something about it. There's a few lessons to be learned here even for those who are not inclined to enter in an adventure in the middle of the desert.
Danny Boyle makes of "127 Hours" a triumph in technical qualities, great editing, great music, great sound effects, brilliant cinematography and a powerful performance by James Franco. The final result is a great film about a man against himself in his most difficult and most painful moment of his life. 10/10