Between a Rock and a Hard Place

(Click image for trailer)

127 Hours (2010), by Danny Boyle                       8.5/10

     There are films that by knowing some of its details before it comes out everyone knows if it will be successful or not. Big franchises, for example, usually do extremely well in the box office even if the film turns out to be a disappointment (which is not always the case); fans are usually fans forever and no matter what. Other people, though, are more interested in style than in genre. What I mean with this is that when people are familiar with very acclaimed cult-film directors, most of the times we also know what to expect of the film; in this case, the fans fall in love with the director’s style and influences not with a particular movie or the other. Among these directors, some examples I could mention could be Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrik, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino (and of course his buddy Robert Rodriguez), Danny Boyle, and most recently, Darren Aronofsky.

However, for the purposes of this blog post, I want to talk about Danny Boyle.

     Although Danny Boyle has made a huge success of most of his films, like Trainspotting (1996), 28 Days Later (2002), and most recently, Slumdog Millionaire (2008), his style is most clearly not tied to any genre in any absolute way, contrary to other great directors who, while original and unique, their style depends on their most influential genres. Some examples could include Tim Burton’s dark humor, fantasy/horror style, Tarantino’s exploitation movies, or Wes Craven’s long list of C-list horror films. Boyle, on the other hand can jump between genre’s extremely easily and still mark his films with his unique upbeat, non-stop action style and make a success out of his films. From a film about junkie life in London, to a story of fallen utopia in an estranged island, to a classic cult-zombie-horror classic, to an Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, to one of the most unique movies of the last year. This way, Boyle has proven many times what it takes to make a good film that is both entertaining, stylistic and heartbreakingly emotional at the same time, and 127 Hours is absolutely no exception.

     The only things that kept me skeptical (and very interested) about this film before I finally saw it were two magical phrases that pretty much always guarantees an enormous box office, but not always guarantees a successful movie. These magical words are:

1) Adaptation.

or

2) “Based” or “Inspired on a true story.”

The story and plot of the film was pretty well know before the movie was even made. Aron Ralston, the film’s protagonist, wrote a book called “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” about the terrible events that lead him to lose an arm while rock climbing the Blue John Canyon in Utah and how he survived the whole ordeal. And that’s pretty much the whole plot of the movie, there is nothing else to say about it.

(No.)

Or so I thought. I kept thinking, “Man, this movie’s going to be lame and boring. A dude stuck between rocks for a whole movie?” But do not worry, Boyle has proven me wrong, and I am proud to admit it.

(The real Aron Ralston and James Franco.)

    James Franco did an amazing job acting as Aron Ralston, and came up strong with a spectacular, tear wrenching performance as a man who strived for life, experience and adrenaline more than anything in the world has to face the death and destruction of all of it in the most terrible manner. To my surprise, the movie was not about him losing his arm at all, it was about growing up, accepting your mistakes and overcoming your pride; it was about holding tight onto life and onto everything and everyone that you love at all times, no matter what. This movie shows us that no matter how terrible and scary things might seem to us at a certain moment in our life, there is still so much to live for, and we have all the strength we need to overcome our problems.

     The script was excellently written, shows perfect balance between action and drama, and it really proves how important character development can be in any narrative. And that’s all this film is: character development. When we finally give up hope for Aron, when he gives up hope himself, he jumps off into a dream state that takes him backwards in time. His memories and hallucinations become his only friends, and in the meantime, we understand why he is the way he is, and why he feels the way he feels, and most importantly, we see him grow and change as this experience affects his life in every way. When we think Aron has gone insane, and he feels he cannot trust his own sanity, that is the exact moment we see who Aron really is and in which ways he is changing. And when the most gruesome, most disgusting scenes are shown to us, we don’t even care, and neither does he, we just want him to survive for the his sake and ours!

(Stress can be very serious business.)

     If this film is something, boring is not it. This film is exciting and terrifying and stressful and, in many ways, beautiful all the way through until the end of the credits. With amazing nature shots and great surreal scenes that are almost poetic, 127 Hours is a film about hitting rock bottom, literally, and finding your inner strength to overcome every single obstacle in your way and grab onto life with all your might, survive and live. And that, my friends, is a message that every single person can relate to. I rate it 8.5/10.

     Until next time, this is Freddy Lizardz with Words on Film. Peace.

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