Man vs. Nature

Rating: 6/10 (17 January 2011)

Adapting mountaineer Aron Ralston's autobiography 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place' , Danny Boyle gives us a reconstruction of his freak accident in a remote Utah canyon, and his outré survival tactics during the 127 hours he was caught between a rock and a wall in a hard place. What saves Ralston, besides near-mythical courage, is his engineering expertise. He attempts to make pulleys to dislodge the boulder. When these fail he is forced to break bones to slice off his decayed arm, using inappropriate cutting tools to do so.
Hard to make this compulsive viewing, as most of the static action takes place in a canyon. But then Boyle is the man who immortalised Irvine Welsh's 'Trainspotting', another book thought to be unfilmable. We've seen breathtaking scenery before, but not like this. Luscious photography means you don't physically have to be in this region to appreciate its grandeur.
To hold our attention, Boyle throws everything at us: split screen, catchy pop songs, state-of-the art special effects. I have only a few reservations, but they are significant. I didn't like the scenes of phantasmagoria. I felt they came too often and were off-putting. I also disliked James Franco's portrayal. Praise has been given for him being able to convincingly capture Ralston's self-deprecation and charm, but there's a reason he wasn't Boyle's first choice (British actor Cillian Murphy was): he's as flat as parts of Utah.
Sometimes, when a film does phenomenally well, like Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire', the success somehow attaches to the director's next film, regardless of the critical reception, and our objectivity gets distorted. It's as though we see their next film with predetermined praise. I think that's what audiences the world over are doing with this film.
By his own admission Boyle prefers to make 'vivacious' rather than 'serious' films. '127 Hours' does not contradict. This is another demonstration of style over substance. Sad, given that Ralston did not want his 'life-affirming' experience to be commodified.
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