Boyle's auteurial stylistics may be a bit of a misfit, but James Franco delivers one of the VERY best performances of the year.

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2011)

I recently saw 127 Hours, a rock (no pun intended) solid movie about the true story of Aron Ralston.
In the film, James Franco plays Ralston, a thrill seeker whose arm became pinned between a boulder and a canyon wall while he was rock climbing in Utah. He became trapped for over five days, taking drastic measures to survive, before finally resorting to amputating his arm off, and eventually making it out alive. At this point, it's a cliché to say, but this is nothing short of a remarkable, and incredible true story.
Some would accuse the film of being style over substance, I'd disagree, but I can see the point of their argument, but just hear me out. Danny Boyle is a remarkable director whose films usually include frenetic film editing, inventive camera techniques, and thumping music. Those traits work well in other films of his (like Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later), but while they are clever, they tend to remove focus from the main plot line of THIS film. Unfortunate to say, but the editing and camera-work had a tendency of irritating me.
Still, that's no reason AT ALL for me to call 127 Hours a BAD movie, especially not for the film's true driving force, James Franco. He carries the whole film on his back, and 99% of which is entirely on his own. His performance is intense and emotional, and never feels false, never feels preachy, and never lets us take our attention off the screen. One of the year's very, VERY best.
And even if the aesthetics tended to get in the way, they can't bog down the passion behind forming the screenplay. Not only is it a successful story of survival, but it also ties in a theme of embracing, rather than shunning society. The sound mix is also sleek, and the pacing tends to hop between slow and fast, and I mean that in the best possible way, as it appropriately shows how the daily struggles of Aron's life either glides by, or drags along. It also features a beautiful end credits song by Dido and A.R. Rahman.
If you can look past whatever flaws there are, you'll find A LOT to admire.
I give 127 Hours *** out of ****