Jason King127 Hours (9/10)
February 10th 2011 02:56
:
Boyle does it again!
Category: Reviews
127 Hours (9/10)
Danny Boyle is edging forward as one of my all time favourite directors - he is creating film after film that are a constant success and he is directing them all to the pop culture fanatics of the world. He can make the most mundane things cool and again he has made a sensational winner with 127 Hours. A film that will appeal to everyone.
A film many thought could never be made - a film mostly set inside a narrow 3ft wide cave with one actor and one rock as the claustrophobic cast. A film that Boyle was determined to make after reading the book of arm amputator and wilderness survivor Aron Ralston.
127 Hours is the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a falling boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and two hikers he met before his accident. Over the next five days Ralston battles the elements and his own demons to finally disvover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, descend a 65ft wall and hike over 8 miles before he is finally rescued. It is mostly based on Ralston's own account of the ordeal titled Between a Rock and Hard Place.
Boyle had just come from filming Slumdog Millionaire in Mumbai with a zillion people around him and was determined to film this (nearly) one man film in one of the most remote places in the US. Was this to balance out the overload of people he experienced in Mumbai? But he had going through his head the same questions most people have after reading Ralston's book.
What did he go through in this extreme moment of reckoning?
How on earth did he last to the point of making this decision?
Could I do that in order to survive?
Once he had these thoughts in his head he knew he had a story and just had to make an entertaining way in telling that story and incredible journey of survival. The film can be called an adventure, survival story but really it is a psychological thriller with one lead actor doing battle with himself and his beliefs. It is a film that gets under Ralston's skin and into his psyche to the very depths of his being in order to reach the decision and then act upon it. And it's in the journey to the depths of Ralston's psyche that the true story unravels and it is a beautiful story of self discovery and life affirmation. I truly loved this film.
And part of the reason I love this story is the person who plays Ralston - one of the coolest actors of the now, James Franco. I just dig him in everything he does. From Harry Osborn in the Spiderman films, as Saul in Pineapple Express, Scott Smith in Milk, Freaks and Geeks and the upcoming Your Highness and Planet of the Apes film, Rise of the Apes - this guy is versatile, can carry some sensational humour and at the same time emote some incredible hurt and sadness. What won him this part though was his physicality and ability to throw himself into the incredible physical role of Ralston. A cool thing people might not know about Franco - besides being bloody gorgeous and talented, in his spare time he has pursued a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia and was just accepted to a PHD at Yale - the guy is a machine and sensible - someone to introduce to the parents for sure
He captures the emotions of Ralston but admits to never wanting to reproduce or "copy" Ralston and what we get is a stripped down emotionally drained and exhausted Franco trapped and fighting with himself to get out of this predicament and he does it with his broad spectrum of acting skills. A lot of the time it is handled humourously and this breaks the film up a lot and then there are the moments of realisation and boredom and thirst. But it is handled so well by Boyle and Franco - everyone knows what is coming in this film and what the climax is going to be - but it still builds so nicely as Ralston (Franco) visits all his emotional connections in his mind as he slowly says goodbye to them all and it is in this saying goodbye that he finds the reasons of friendship, love and connection to others to do what he must, remove his own arm.
The climax is handled very well, it is not pretty in the slightest and a lot of people will look away but that is what we are seeing and imagining, we weren't there for real so really imagine what he went through. But also add to the fact he was 5 days without a proper meal, dehydrated and sleep deprived to the point of hallucination and was slowly losing his mind. To some extent he was slightly aneathetised. But regardless, who the hell would want to do that?
What happened to Ralston was an act of sheer stupidity, it could all have been avoided if he followed some basic rules of safety. 1) Never climb or hike alone 2) Always tell someone where you are going and when you will return. There are plenty of other basic safety rules he broke but Ralston was and is arrogant and has skills, he sees himself above the need to follow these rules. I have met and spoke with a climber who has climed with Ralston before and after this accident. Ralston has a very bad reputation in climbing circles for his sheer stupidity at ignoring these basic safety precautions - while the film says Ralston now leaves a note saying where he is going his reputation is not a good one as this climber claims he still refuses to climb with others and flaunts a lot of the common safety rules. The scene in the film where Ralston realises this could all have been avoided or brought to a more swift rescue is one of the best in the film. It is told like a game show and brings the reality of his situation to a head as his actual head starts losing its grip on reality.
The film is set in an isoloated cave with mainly one character but the pace of this film is fast, it is told by Boyle in a way that keeps you on the edge of the seat and a lot of it is achieved through the editing and the music. Boyle believed the whole success of this film was based on momentum. He keeps the screen full of both constant motion and emotion for the entire 90mins of the film, there is no rest time in this film - it just keeps going. Firstly Boyle chose to do something that had not been done before - he got two cinematographers to shoot the film. Anthony Dod Mantle (who shot Slumdog Millionaire) and Enrique Chediak (who shot 28 Weeks Later). These guys had never met before and shot different scenes from each other and worked together to keep different but constant pacing in the film depending on where they were. The film also uses multiple camera formats. They were both given 35mm and 16mm cameras, digital cameras and still cameras and this allowed them a huge diverse range of film. You will see the formats change a lot and you will definitely see Dod Mantles style come through a lot - there were plenty of times I felt the style of Slumdog Millionaire and this constant changing of film styles added to the pace and kept it alive that little bit more. It was a great move.
There are a couple of other actors in the film that you will recognise - everyone else performed admirably but everyone else's roles are so small and inconsequential to Franco's performance. Kate Mara who is also in Brokeback Mountain and Iron Man 2 is a great small part as is Clemence Poesy who plays the lost love interest - it may take you a while to work out where you have seen her before - she is Fleur Delacour from the Harry Potter films.
The film's sensational editing and pop styling comes from Jon Harris - best known for The Descent, Snatch, Ripley's Game, Layer Cake and Stardust. He adds to the quick pace of the film and gave it a real youthful feal. Some people may get annoyed at the three way occasional split screen but I enjoy it - it reminds me of 24
Then there is the music - the same guy who brought us the magic in Slumdog Millioonaire - A R Rahmn who as been described as the Mozart of Madras by Time Magazine. He has sold over 150 million copies of his composing of over 100 film soundtracks. Besides the abundant Indian and International soundtracks he has composed the ones you will most know are Slumdog Millionaire, The Lord of War and Inside Man. His music is just beautiful and creates this powerful atmosphere that brings all the other elements of the film together. Rahman scored 2 Oscars for his music on Slumdog and this film has the same tone of music.
This is defintely a must watch film that will have universal appeal to everyone. It is truly life affirming and a positive look at a negative outcome from sheer stupidity. You may turn away for a minute or two towards the end but it's worth it. Worth an easy 9/10 and releasing Feb 10th in Australia.
Danny Boyle is edging forward as one of my all time favourite directors - he is creating film after film that are a constant success and he is directing them all to the pop culture fanatics of the world. He can make the most mundane things cool and again he has made a sensational winner with 127 Hours. A film that will appeal to everyone.
A film many thought could never be made - a film mostly set inside a narrow 3ft wide cave with one actor and one rock as the claustrophobic cast. A film that Boyle was determined to make after reading the book of arm amputator and wilderness survivor Aron Ralston.
127 Hours is the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a falling boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and two hikers he met before his accident. Over the next five days Ralston battles the elements and his own demons to finally disvover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, descend a 65ft wall and hike over 8 miles before he is finally rescued. It is mostly based on Ralston's own account of the ordeal titled Between a Rock and Hard Place.
Boyle had just come from filming Slumdog Millionaire in Mumbai with a zillion people around him and was determined to film this (nearly) one man film in one of the most remote places in the US. Was this to balance out the overload of people he experienced in Mumbai? But he had going through his head the same questions most people have after reading Ralston's book.
What did he go through in this extreme moment of reckoning?
How on earth did he last to the point of making this decision?
Could I do that in order to survive?
Once he had these thoughts in his head he knew he had a story and just had to make an entertaining way in telling that story and incredible journey of survival. The film can be called an adventure, survival story but really it is a psychological thriller with one lead actor doing battle with himself and his beliefs. It is a film that gets under Ralston's skin and into his psyche to the very depths of his being in order to reach the decision and then act upon it. And it's in the journey to the depths of Ralston's psyche that the true story unravels and it is a beautiful story of self discovery and life affirmation. I truly loved this film.
And part of the reason I love this story is the person who plays Ralston - one of the coolest actors of the now, James Franco. I just dig him in everything he does. From Harry Osborn in the Spiderman films, as Saul in Pineapple Express, Scott Smith in Milk, Freaks and Geeks and the upcoming Your Highness and Planet of the Apes film, Rise of the Apes - this guy is versatile, can carry some sensational humour and at the same time emote some incredible hurt and sadness. What won him this part though was his physicality and ability to throw himself into the incredible physical role of Ralston. A cool thing people might not know about Franco - besides being bloody gorgeous and talented, in his spare time he has pursued a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia and was just accepted to a PHD at Yale - the guy is a machine and sensible - someone to introduce to the parents for sure
He captures the emotions of Ralston but admits to never wanting to reproduce or "copy" Ralston and what we get is a stripped down emotionally drained and exhausted Franco trapped and fighting with himself to get out of this predicament and he does it with his broad spectrum of acting skills. A lot of the time it is handled humourously and this breaks the film up a lot and then there are the moments of realisation and boredom and thirst. But it is handled so well by Boyle and Franco - everyone knows what is coming in this film and what the climax is going to be - but it still builds so nicely as Ralston (Franco) visits all his emotional connections in his mind as he slowly says goodbye to them all and it is in this saying goodbye that he finds the reasons of friendship, love and connection to others to do what he must, remove his own arm.
The climax is handled very well, it is not pretty in the slightest and a lot of people will look away but that is what we are seeing and imagining, we weren't there for real so really imagine what he went through. But also add to the fact he was 5 days without a proper meal, dehydrated and sleep deprived to the point of hallucination and was slowly losing his mind. To some extent he was slightly aneathetised. But regardless, who the hell would want to do that?
What happened to Ralston was an act of sheer stupidity, it could all have been avoided if he followed some basic rules of safety. 1) Never climb or hike alone 2) Always tell someone where you are going and when you will return. There are plenty of other basic safety rules he broke but Ralston was and is arrogant and has skills, he sees himself above the need to follow these rules. I have met and spoke with a climber who has climed with Ralston before and after this accident. Ralston has a very bad reputation in climbing circles for his sheer stupidity at ignoring these basic safety precautions - while the film says Ralston now leaves a note saying where he is going his reputation is not a good one as this climber claims he still refuses to climb with others and flaunts a lot of the common safety rules. The scene in the film where Ralston realises this could all have been avoided or brought to a more swift rescue is one of the best in the film. It is told like a game show and brings the reality of his situation to a head as his actual head starts losing its grip on reality.
The film is set in an isoloated cave with mainly one character but the pace of this film is fast, it is told by Boyle in a way that keeps you on the edge of the seat and a lot of it is achieved through the editing and the music. Boyle believed the whole success of this film was based on momentum. He keeps the screen full of both constant motion and emotion for the entire 90mins of the film, there is no rest time in this film - it just keeps going. Firstly Boyle chose to do something that had not been done before - he got two cinematographers to shoot the film. Anthony Dod Mantle (who shot Slumdog Millionaire) and Enrique Chediak (who shot 28 Weeks Later). These guys had never met before and shot different scenes from each other and worked together to keep different but constant pacing in the film depending on where they were. The film also uses multiple camera formats. They were both given 35mm and 16mm cameras, digital cameras and still cameras and this allowed them a huge diverse range of film. You will see the formats change a lot and you will definitely see Dod Mantles style come through a lot - there were plenty of times I felt the style of Slumdog Millionaire and this constant changing of film styles added to the pace and kept it alive that little bit more. It was a great move.
There are a couple of other actors in the film that you will recognise - everyone else performed admirably but everyone else's roles are so small and inconsequential to Franco's performance. Kate Mara who is also in Brokeback Mountain and Iron Man 2 is a great small part as is Clemence Poesy who plays the lost love interest - it may take you a while to work out where you have seen her before - she is Fleur Delacour from the Harry Potter films.
The film's sensational editing and pop styling comes from Jon Harris - best known for The Descent, Snatch, Ripley's Game, Layer Cake and Stardust. He adds to the quick pace of the film and gave it a real youthful feal. Some people may get annoyed at the three way occasional split screen but I enjoy it - it reminds me of 24
Then there is the music - the same guy who brought us the magic in Slumdog Millioonaire - A R Rahmn who as been described as the Mozart of Madras by Time Magazine. He has sold over 150 million copies of his composing of over 100 film soundtracks. Besides the abundant Indian and International soundtracks he has composed the ones you will most know are Slumdog Millionaire, The Lord of War and Inside Man. His music is just beautiful and creates this powerful atmosphere that brings all the other elements of the film together. Rahman scored 2 Oscars for his music on Slumdog and this film has the same tone of music.
This is defintely a must watch film that will have universal appeal to everyone. It is truly life affirming and a positive look at a negative outcome from sheer stupidity. You may turn away for a minute or two towards the end but it's worth it. Worth an easy 9/10 and releasing Feb 10th in Australia.
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