Between a Rock and the Other Place

Rating: 7/10 (18 November 2010)

Greetings again from the darkness. Spoilers are strictly avoided in my comments on movies. I completely understand that not everyone rushes out to see new releases the way that I do. For this movie, there can be no spoilers. We are all painfully aware of the real life ordeal suffered by Aron Ralston in 2003. This taut film succeeds at bringing to life the visuals our minds can only imagine.
Danny Boyle is a terrific director and has three (now four) outstanding and diverse movies to his name (Slumdog Millionaire, Millions, Trainspotting). Here he re-teams with Slumdog writer Simon Beaufoy to bring us the screen version of Aron Ralston's book "Between a Rock and Hard Place". It's the story of an adventurous young man who is forced to take drastic measures when his arm is pinned after a fall while rock climbing.
What the film really explores is Ralston's personality. A cocky, adventurous, fun-loving guy whose "oops" moment consisted of not telling anyone where he was headed. A cardinal sin for hikers. Five days later he stumbles back to life, minus one arm. Ralston faces one of those moments when he must decide just how important life is. He must be a courageous man because his choice leads to life ... through excruciating pain.
Boyle does an amazing job in capturing the moment and the setting. In what could be a hopeless situation, Ralston clings to life. James Franco delivers an Oscar worthy performance as Ralston. His range here is remarkable. Watching his hallucinations, flashbacks and persistence makes this an extremely watchable film despite the topic.
Support work is minimal but decent from Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Treat Williams, Kate Burton and Clemence Poesy. Franco and Boyle are the real stars as they capture Ralston's spirit. As a viewer, this taps into our inner most fear. What if this were us? What if we were him? Could we do it? Would we do it?