127 Hours

 

It is unlikely that anyone watching 127 Hours will be unfamiliar with the story of Aron Ralston, a hiker who became trapped in a canyon in Utah when his arm was pinned by a falling rock, and his subsequent self-amputation to free himself. The two questions are: how would the film-makers make this severely restricted tale (one character, one cramped location, one blunt knife) compelling? And exactly how harrowing is the climactic scene? Director Boyle uses his usual inventive, kinetic style to portray Ralston (excellently played by Franco) as a hyperactive, self-obsessed loner abruptly forced into absolute stasis. During the scenes in the canyon time does occasionally begin to drag, but then it probably did for Ralston too. For all it's modern sheen, this story of a selfish, cocksure hero re-formed by a wilderness experience and returned to family and responsibility is as old as American literature. Oh yes, the answer to the second question: really harrowing. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]