Effectively simple

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2017)

How could a director like Danny Boyle hope to make a film about a man who spent five days with his arm trapped under a rock?
This is the question I asked myself when I first heard of '127 Hours', and I asked it again (this time with even greater bewilderment) when I saw how well-received it was. I had numerous opportunities to watch this film over the past six-to-seven years, but I could never convince myself that I'd enjoy it. Then, with little else to watch, I decided to give it a chance. My only regret is that I hadn't given it this chance back in 2010.
There are no surprises to '127 Hours' - no twists, narrative intricacies or other film-making favourites. The expression 'What you see it what you get' applies to this film more than almost any other. In spite of that (or *because* of that, perhaps), '127 Hours' is an exhilarating experience.
James Franco leads the film, joining a small but competent team of supporting actors. I was recently impressed by Franco's acting in the mini-series '11.22.63', but now consider '127 Hours' to be his greatest performance. He captures both the resilience and desperation of his role excellently, and I doubt that a lesser performer could have handled the lead in a film like this.
The visuals are by necessity rather simple, but there are one or two quite memorable scenes, largely due to the sharp camera-work. The editing in the opening and concluding scenes is also commendable.
I don't consider this to be the greatest Danny Boyle film, but it's certainly of an expected quality for those familiar with titles like 'Trainspotting'.