Viewed in
2010
Formats
Movie theater (digital)
Premise
James Franco stars as a lone hiker who gets trapped by a boulder while in the middle of Utah mountains. Based on Aron Ralston's true story.
Loved
The cinematography, Franco's performance.
Thoughts
A film that was as emotionally compelling as visually dazzling.
This was James Franco's best acting to date. The heart of the film was solely on his shoulders, much like Tom Hanks in Castaway, and Franco pulled it off masterfully with charm and vulnerability. I felt like I was there, trapped in that crevice, vacillating between will and despair.
Director Danny Boyle has been on a tear lately, creating fantastic tales that resonate emotionally, while deftly using his style to enhance the experience, instead of distracting the audience. Cinematographers Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle helped achieve Boyle's energetic vision, with a mix of swooping aerials and guerrilla handheld, contrasting the majestic vastness with desperate isolation. Even the hallucinations were plot-logical.
I had dreaded watching this because of my fear of realistic gore and the stories of people fainting and whatnot from the famed amputation scene. To my surprise, it was not as stomach-churning as I feared. Not only was it appropriate, the film would not have worked as well without it. The trick was in Boyle's use of sound to transform a gruesome three minutes into astounding moment that truly captured the unspeakable pain overcome by the primal need to survive. Thanks to Franco's performance and the story, instead of turning away, I found my eyes glued to the screen, my heart desperately willing his character to do the impossible.
If I had to nit-pick, I would have to say it was Boyle's reunion with A.R. Rahman's as composer. The score sometimes sounded too much like Slumdog Millionaire, and it did not seem to fit the story. Good thing it was much more toned down so it never really distracted me.
With great skill, Franco and Boyle created one of the most emotionally engaging films of the year. And I would not change that amputation scene one bit.
What I would change
Nothing.
