Franco is the reason this is worth watching

Rating: 7/10 (7 October 2011)

127 Hours follows the true story of arrogant adventurist Aron Ralston on the biggest misadventure he could come across. He takes a lonely exploring, mountain climbing hike in Blue John Canyon but when he falls on a rock, dislodging it in the process, he finds himself trapped in a narrow crevice with his hand wedged firmly behind this rock.
The story follows Aron as he goes through pain, emotional stress, dehydration and hallucinations whilst trapped for five days in this narrow, lonely crack. His only utensils are a bottle of water, which he must ration in order to survive, a cheap utility tool which is nothing short of useless, some rope which isn't much use to a guy who can only use one hand, and a camcorder, which ends up being his prized tool as it is his way of documenting his situation and keeping himself in check with reality whilst he waits for his demise or his emotional blow out. The film manages to ask the question, what would you do? If you know the film, or the story you will know the outcome but again, would you do it?
The film is basically served around James Franco, bar a scene at the beginning where he meets two lost girls and shows them the time of their lives (swimming in the depths of a canyon, what else could that mean?) and the people he holds places for in his heart which we see in flashbacks. These are the people and the situations that he believes led him to this crisis, losing the love of his life, ignoring his Mother's phone calls, his constant neglect for telling people where he is going, a lone wolf as he seems to be. It's not until a premonition shows him all that he could achieve in life, the fathering of his son, where he finally makes the sacrifice that others would chose not to. The film is not so much a story as it is an emotional journey with a man whose self belief is so strong that he will do whatever it takes to pursue future moments in his life.
The film is generally good due to Franco's fantastic portrayal of Aran, he has you believing all of his pain, all of his anger and remorse. A particular scene is when he interviews himself on a make believe talk show called 'On the Boulder'. The way he delivers his split personality situation is just brilliant and also the final scene where the inevitable happens, where Franco really allows you to feel like you're in his shoes and has you squirming away until he finishes his make or break choice. Franco's performance is top notch but so is most of Danny Boyle's direction. The sound used for pivotal moments, the split screen movements and some of the music are great. It's just a pity that some of the score seems out of place and a few editorial decisions, such as the photograph snapping sequences, seem like they just don't need to be there. It is an area which lets down Boyle initial direction.
Although a lot of praise goes into the acting and directing, it is the only thing that makes this film tick. The story seems better suited for a half hour news reel or hour long documentary and it only stretches to the ninety minute mark because of a pointless opening scene with the two girls and an overuse of flashbacks. There was a point in the middle where I was drifting out of the movie as it was becoming a bit repetitive. Of course the movie is moving as it is true but there are not a lot of things you can do with one man in a canyon.
The acting is superb, definitely Oscar Winning worthy, the direction was good, the score was up and down and sadly these are the things that really drive this movie. If it wasn't for them then I think this film would dive and it only has seen great reviews because of these aspects. All in all just a good movie and nothing more, unfortunately.