5/5
An astonishingly powerful true to life story that metaphorically reminds us of what it means to live and survive. A true masterpiece no one should dare miss!
127 Hours is the story of Aron Ralston played by James Franco who in 2003, went on an adventure trip in the Robbers Roust Canyons in Utah without telling anyone of his plans. Unfortunately, he met an accident when an 800-pound boulder traps his right arm in the canyons. With just a few hiking stuffs with him, Aron knew it’s impossible to be rescued by anyone, at least not until he’s still alive and breathing. So with much courage, Aron knew he needed to save himself and after five days of being trapped, amputating his lower right arm, he magnificently extricated himself from the canyons and had a second chance in life.
Words are not enough to compliment a movie like 127 Hours which, if not for the genius of a director like Danny Boyle, would just be a nice but dull story we’ll probably chance upon watching in National Geographic or Discovery Channel. But the Slumdog Millionaire Director once again proved that with the right idea and a masterful technique in execution, a story like this is definitely a Hollywood material. It’s pretty evident that a narrative like this of 127 Hours will otherwise be boring adding to the fact that it calls for a location and an environment that’s already dull as it is. But Director Danny Boyle made used of the magic of split screen and manipulated images of representations, flashbacks, and imaginations in order to create mindful imageries of icebreaker to an otherwise dragging plot. This technique also provided Boyle a tool on how to give the audience a peek on what’s going on inside Aron’s mind and not only the thoughts that he verbalizes or the emotion Franco expresses.
The screenplay always play a vital role in any movie narrative and the stakes are higher in this one because in a movie that’s 95% monologue, you need to have a simple, direct to the point yet full of authentic emotion kind of script that thoroughly send its message of life importance to the audience. And this movie raises the bar on that. This is also one of the many advantages when the director is also the one who penned his movie’s screenplay. There is very minimal possibility that the message the narrative is trying to convey will be lost in translation.
Also, it is very important to note that this movie wouldn’t come out this way if not for the incredible talent of James Franco who practically was a one-man-show in this movie. Though accolades speak otherwise, it is undeniable that James Franco is one of the best actors among the young ones in this generation. His acting in this movie is flawlessly natural and every emotion is convincingly credible to the roofs beyond any critical objections. His portrayal is just as authentic as it can be. I believe Boyle hit bull’s-eye here in giving the part to Franco. The stable and dependable talent he showcased in this movie is just awesomely great!
127 Hours’ plot is very simple and it’s the kind of movie that really depends on how the entire narrative will be executed in the big screen. Favorably for this movie, everything fell in to place: a very rich story, a wonderful script, a genius Director, perfect execution, and a brilliant actor, what more can you ask for?
There’s much talk about how graphic this movie is when it comes to the depiction of the actual amputation scene and a lot will probably go and see the movie for this particular reason. But aside from the dauntlessness of this movie, it is also consequential to hear out the message it conveys. Of course, aside from the obvious never set out on a trip without anybody knowing where you’re going, Aron’s experience in the canyons in Utah is reminding us two very important realities. First, is that everything in this life is predestined. The paths we’re going to cross, the people we meet, our sets of fortunes and misfortunes, they’re all bound to happen and it’s just in our freewill how we’re going to react in all these. It’s one of the most significant realizations Aron had while still trapped in that deep ravine—that boulder, that particular space in that canyon had been waiting for him all his life—he was destined to be trapped in that canyon. It was part of his fate. And finally, 127 Hours shows us just how great and powerful a person’s collective courage and will power can do to save his own life and survive. Aron’s story is urging us to never lose hope and make use of whatever is laid down on us to value life and fight for it because the breath of life is a precious gift where every second counts.
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