127 Hours by Danny Boyle, is a moving and truly inspirational movie based on the true events that happened to Aron Ralston on the date of April the 25th 2003. The film takes place in the Utah Desert where Aron Ralston (James Franco) an expert canyoner, descends down BlueJohn Canyon when a dislodged boulder falls on his right arm, trapping his fore-arm between the wall of the canyon and the 800lb boulder. Carrying only a small backpack containing a blunt knife from his cheap multitool kit, 2 burritos, a litre of water and a video camera which he records his final good byes to his mum and dad. After 127 hours of being immobilised and unable to move, Ralston realised how to save his own life when he embraced his inner animal, by dislocating and breaking the ulna and the radius in his fore-arm. After the breaking of his arm, Ralston took a cheap penknife to his arm tearing away at the flesh and digging deep into the muscles and tendons until his arm was free from the rest of his body.
I admired the self-discipline and mental strength that Aron Ralston displayed when trapped in Bluejohn Canyon, when he evaluated his core beliefs, replaced negative thoughts with productive thoughts, suffered through excruciating pain and reflected on his progress daily. However our main protagonist also made a stupid mistake by not telling anyone where he was going, ’’Yeah, that's right. Eh... Hey, Mom. I'm really sorry I didn't answer the phone the other night. If I had, I would have told you where I was going, and then... Well, I probably wouldn't be here right now’’. Ralston then pays the consequences of being trapped in a canyon for 5 days. One of the main life lessons we can take out of this film is to stay calm and use your head, “Your number one survival tool is the grey matter that keeps your ears apart.” Aron displays this when he empties his backpack and looks at all the items he brought with him, resorting to the penknife where he cross eliminates his plans of freeing his arm from the boulder. 127 Hours is the strength that lies within our souls, the tale of inspiration, hope and ingenuity keeps you on the edge of your seat, even though the film is focused around only one man trapped in Bluejohn canyon, leading up to a gruesome finale of courage.
127 Hours is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while, as it has great features that makes it different from your average movie, like how the cinematography and soundtrack interlock to create an arty feel, as everything is split into sections of three and it has a brilliant opening song that introduces and describes the character of Aron. The scene with the most impact was when Ralston amputated on his own fore-arm. Before watching 127 Hours, I heard that people had fainted during the movie premier and I was expecting it to be gory and over the top, however it was more realistic as it was all off screen violence with the dramatic score of ‘Liberation in a Dream’ which kept you on the edge of your seat. The worst part about this scene is where Ralston actually breaks the ulna and the radius in his forearm, making an offensive screeching noise that Danny Boyle makes a cross-reference to the board-game, Operation. Again it is all off-screen violence like when the camera jerks around the mountain valley, fitting in time with the cracking and dislocating of his bones, creating a real intense vibe.
The theme behind 127 Hours is thought provoking as it forces the audience to question ‘how far would you go to survive?’ and how we should enjoy the little things. A fine example of this is when Ralston sees the sun shining on the walls of the canyon and how he is over the moon when he gets to bask in his 15 minutes of sunlight through the crevasse of the canyon. However when Ralston grows closer to being trapped in the canyon for 127 hours he begins to lose his sanity and enter a state of delirium which transforms him into a barbaric animal. “You know, I've been thinking. Everything is... just comes together. It's me. I chose this. I chose all of this. This rock... this rock has been waiting for me my entire life. In its entire life, ever since it was a bit of meteorite a million, billion years ago up there in space. It's been waiting, to come here. Right, right here. I've been moving towards it my entire life. The minute I was born, every breath I've taken, every action has been leading me to this crack on the earth's surface.” Once again 127 Hours is questioning ‘how far would you go?’ looking death in the eye and having nothing to lose, what actions would you take that would inspire you to get out alive of Bluejohn Canyon. We can compare this to possible situations that we face in our day to day lives but on a much smaller scale.
In the grand scheme of things I was lost emotionally as the important ideas in the film stuck with me for days on end, I began to question myself in ‘how far I would go in order to save my own life’ and reunite with friends and family once more. 127 Hours was perfectly produced, so the viewer is fully absorbed in the context of the film. I was no exception as it had great casting, brilliant camera work, spectacular scenery and a plotline that enthralled me from start to finish.