Ryan McNeil
What do you think about when you’re all alone? Where does your mind wander to? Are you preoccupied with the nagging situations that you need to deal with, or are you more of the sort to let your brain drift through things that make you happy and retreat from problems that need solving.
Everyone is different of course, and sometimes those differences can come in handy when the chips are down. So says 127 HOURS
This film is about a real-life man named Aron Ralston (James Franco). Ralston is most aptly described as an adventurer. He swims, he skis, he bikes, he climbs. For Ralston, the working week is a means to an end…the end being his next foray into the great outdoors. And being the independent spirit that he is, he doesn’t need to rely on others for company on these excursions. He’s quite happy going it alone.
Hell, sometimes he doesn’t even tell anyone where he’s going.
Such is the case one weekend when Ralston heads out for a weekend in Moab, Utah. He packs up the basics, drives through the night, and plans on spending the weekend biking, camping, and climbing. He meets two pretty girls and hangs out with them for a little while, but the moment is fleeting and he goes back on his path alone.
Unfortunately, while he’s off on his own, Ralston makes a slight misstep. While climbing in Blue John Canyon, he has an accident and gets stuck. This would be a big problem all by itself, but considering he’s all alone, well out of earshot, and miles away from help, his big problem becomes a potentially deadly problem.
Ralston’s story is pretty famous by now, and has become even more famous with the release of this film. However, if you haven’t heard it by now, you won’t be hearing any more about it here. What I will tell you, is the fact that 127 HOURS is rather unique in the way that it takes a theme we’ve seen a few times already (one actor with precious little to play off), and gives it a fresh scope.
Director Danny Boyle has achieved this by balancing the gravity of the situation with the expanse of Ralston’s mental state. The film finds a harmony between eerily calm desperation and retreats to a happier place. Based very much on Ralston’s writings of the experience, we see that along with his survival instinct, what carries him through the ordeal is his ability to escape to thoughts and memories of those he loves. When that doesn’t work, a wickedly wry sense of humour goes like gangbusters.
Our survival is controlled by our mental condition, which is why most first aid training warns of the dangers of allowing trauma casualties of falling into shock. So the story of his survival isn’t just the steps Ralston takes, but his frame of mind as he takes them. If there’s a lesson I’m taking away from this, it’s that thinking about the taste of a strawberry milkshake and the memory of the first time I walked into the SkyDome could be just as useful as a tourniquet or fresh water in a pinch.
Another factor that makes 127 HOURS unique is its intense rhythm. While much of the film is focused on one man in one locale, the movie isn’t content to just let the camera sweep and swivel through this one narrow crevasse. Instead, the story is told with an intensely frenetic energy – both when Ralston is in the present and especially when he’s thinking of the outside world.
Moviegoers familiar with Danny Boyle’s body of work will recognize this pulse. It was on display in TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER, and of course SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. When combined with some intricate camera work, and Franco’s powerful performance this energy pulls us into the situation that much further.
And indeed, this energetic filmmaking style gets a workout during “the scene”.
127 HOURS is a visceral achievement. It gives Franco very little to play off, but time after time he shows us that he’s quite content playing off himself. It rises above the tedium, panic, and claustrophobia of the situation and somehow creates something beautiful and life-affirming. Most interestingly, it runs counter to the mental instinct mentioned off the top: it never lets the mind wander.