Imagine you are mountain climbing out in the middle of nowhere. It is extremely hot; the sun is blistering down on your perspiring face. The only food and liquids you have are a few burritos and a canteen of water. You begin traversing into a crevice and attempt to pull yourself up from a rock. The rock is not sturdy, and it falls down with your arm stuck under it, wedged in and not budging. This is the situation Aron Ralston (James Franco) was living in the fantastic film “127 Hours”.
James Franco pulled off an absolutely fantastic solo performance in this film, directed by Danny Boyle and based on a true story. 127 Hours was nominated for three Golden Globes and numerous other awards.
Aron Ralston moves through life solo. He doesn’t talk much with his parents and he had broken up with his girlfriend. The only person he communicates much with is his co-workers at the mountaineering supply shop where he works.
Aron’s major passion, the only thing he lives for, is mountain climbing and canyoneering. Aron makes the decision to leave everything behind for a trip out to Blue John Canyon Country outside of Moab, Utah to go mountain biking and canyoneering. Aron’s mistake that could have cost him his life was that he didn’t tell anyone where he was going. He didn’t tell his parents, his ex-girlfriend, his co-workers- no one. And when Aron gets his arm stuck under that rock, there’s no one who can come looking for him in the right place, because no one knows what he’s doing, whom he’s with, or where he is.
The arguably most impressive part of this film, apart from James Franco’s impressive performance, is the movie’s cinematography. In the setting, Blue John Canyon Country in Utah, nothing can be seen but blue skies and beautiful canyon rocks for miles. The movie’s plot seems like it would get boring and dragged out after a bit, but this stunning cinematography, mixed with James Franco, keeps the movie exciting, suspenseful, and extremely intriguing.
James Franco does an inspiring job portraying Aron Ralston’s pain, determination, and most of all, his will to live. If you are captivated by suspense, beautiful cinematography, and some top notch acting, you should go see 127 Hours.
