James Franco stars as a mountain climber who becomes trapped under a boulder in acclaimed director Danny Boyle’s latest movie, “127 Hours.” (Chuck Zlotnick/AP)
Spawned from a true story that shocked the world, “127 Hours” is Danny Boyle’s directorial response to his smash success, “Slumdog Millionaire.”
The film, which features James Franco as its lead actor, is an emotional roller coaster that takes the audience from euphoria to an almost horror like state, but still manages to do so with dignity.
The movie is based on the true tale of the mountain climber Aron Ralston’s time trapped in a boulder.
From a directorial standpoint, Boyle is at his near best. With the film being so different from any other films he has directed, it is refreshing to see Boyle actually try his hand at a biopic. Boyle’s use of arid cinematography, creative camera angles and unconventional story –telling make “127 Hours” a true work of moving art.
To complement Boyle’s fine directing, Franco takes hold of the character of Ralston and makes the role his own.
At the beginning of the film, Franco showcases Ralston as this relaxed, almost detached man who lives for trekking the outdoors. However, when the forces of nature decide to hold Ralston captive, Franco flexes his dramatic muscle and unveils the layers behind Ralston’s true character.
An unusual, but interesting, facet of the “127 hours” is the unconventional objects that Boyle forms into characters in his film.
For instance, Boyle directs the audience’s attention to small bugs that are crawling around Ralston during his time in the cave. These bugs, further into the film, become a sort of supporting character, proving to Ralston that there is still life around him, which strengthens his will to live. Boyle does the same thing with water.
Boyle described his filming process and remembers having to constantly remind Franco to dry his lips, knowing that the audience would not believe that Franco is actually dehydrated if his lips were wet.
Even though this film is quite good as a whole, there are some decisions and scenes that leave you scratching your head.
One scene in particular involves Franco hallucinating his past. During this scene, Boyle breaks away from nitty-gritty cinematography that is uniform throughout the movie, and instead opts for a more “psychedelic” feel.
Although its best chance of winning an Oscar will come through Franco’s acting, “127 Hours” is still a great film that showcases one of America’s true heroic stories. The film hits theaters Friday.
Visit smudailycampus.com for more of the interview with Boyle.
