127 Hours (2011) - Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle deserves all the praise in the world for his adaptation of the chilling and gripping true story of Aron Ralstons fight for survival in a scenario where it seemed that all hope of survival was lost. In 2003, Aron Ralston, a climber and extreme sports enthusiast who one weekend went out hiking in the remote Blue John Canyon in Utah. He had told no one where he was going; he had no mobile phone and even with it he would of struggled to contact anyone as he was so far out in the remote canyons.Whilst the adreneline junkie is climbing through canyons he slips and falls down a crack in the ground, taking a large rock with him as he hits the bottom of the canyon the rock which fell with him trapped his hand and wrist and no matter how hard he tried he was unable to get free. This is where the horror story begins.

I'm going to give away a major spoiler in the film now, but in all honesty there really isnt much reason for me to warn you as you need to have been under a rock for a year (No pun intended, honest!) not to know the outcome of this story. As the days dwindle by after numerous attempts at trying to free himself with all the rescources he had, things were looking grim. Over the course of the four days he was trapped his food and water supply ran out and it could be said that Aron was slipping into slightly madness accompanied by weird epiphiny like halluciantions, brilliantly portrayed by his video diary he had filmed throughout the four days. In the end Ralston realised what he has to do and gruesomely breaks his arm to peices and then cuts it off in a bid to escape..

Boyle has indicated that the meaning of this story, its take-home message, is that it made Ralston a better person; he learned that he couldn't do everything himself, and that he should swallow his pride and learn to do things with the help of others we are given an insight into Arons life and past via his hallucinations which is what gives the film such an emotional edge, one one hand we obviously feel awful for Ralston and want nothing more for him to escape but on the other hand, his past has shown us that he has made wrong decisions and needed to learn from his mistakes, which he now understands after his time spent in the canyon.

With James Francos brilliant acting showing true emotion and fear which i really felt throughout coupled with the brilliant directing of the ever succesful Danny Boyle we are treated to a visually and mentally stunning film which has you on the edge throughout. Its an exciting and touching film that was executed brilliantly.

Overall Grade: B-