Review of 127 Hours (2010) by Nik M — 10 Sep 2012

Mixed review: in dramatizing Aron Ralston's (James Franco's) unconventional escape method - I'll spoil it, because it's based on a true story and I think everyone already knows: he cuts off his own arm - Danny Boyle gives us another of his truly horrific, (i.e., not fantasic but rather based in reality), iconic scenes to go with his baby on the ceiling (Trainspotting) and his boy-falling-in-latrine (Slumdog Millionaire). The music, sound, effects and editing that make the climax so terrifying and so gruesome to watch are carried off rather well, and in the weeks since seeing it, I've come to wonder if I underwent a minor trauma watching it, as whenever something gets very stressful, for some reason this scene comes back to me in all its intensity.

And yet, the film fell victim to the same fate as Into the Wild: I didn't care much about the protagonist. The last ten minutes of the movie, if that, tell us how he learned and grew from the experience, but to be frank, I'd rather they weren't there. Closing the film where the action ended, as opposed to after the happy Where-Are-They-Now and Moral Of The Story bits, would make it an outstanding piece; were the growth Boyle strives to show in the end better hinted at as the film went on, were the depth's of Ralston's guilt and desire to survive probed a little farther, I think we'd cheer for him. As it was, it was kind of like Hot Tub Time Machine, in that I was mostly waiting for the part where he loses his arm.