127 Hours (2010)

Going into this movie, you'd think it would get dull quickly, seeing as how it is nearly 2 hours of a man whose arm is stuck under a rock. Fortunately, you'd be wrong.

'127 Hours' is the true story of Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), a fearless mountaineer who winds up falling down into the crack of a canyon and having a large rock pin his arm down. As the name implies, Aron is trapped for 127 hours until he finally musters the strength and will to do whatever is necessary in order to survive -- even if it means cutting his own arm off with a dull knife.


Franco gave a compelling performance, despite his main co-star being a rock. The audience gets to see the stages, both physical and mental, that Aron endured during his fight for survival. What I found most profound were the images that came to him (and probably saved him), along with his reflections on past regrets. The movie really makes you question your will to survive and what's most important in your life.

Aron, who did not tell anyone where he was going, starts to re-examine the life choices that led him to the position he became *pardon the pun* stuck in. Aron had been living a life of solitary independence -- he pushed people away, neglected his family's phone calls, and never told anyone where he was going. So what's truly remarkable is how Aron ultimately responds to the rock. He sees it as a symbol that maybe he does need people in his life, and that no man is an island. "This rock has been waiting for me my whole life," Aron says. While most people would have accepted their fate, Aron conjures up the energy to fight for his life, despite having run out of food and water and having recorded his final goodbyes to his mother and father on his camcorder. And although the scene where Aron has to savagely cut his own arm off is undeniably disturbing, the movie's lasting impression is one of triumph and determination.

This movie was compelling and powerful, and I challenge anyone who watches it to ask themselves if they, too, have what it takes to overcome almost certain death.

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Genre: Drama
Synopsis: A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive. A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.

Rated: R for language and some disturbing violent content/bloody images
Running Time: 1 hr. 35 min.
In Theaters: Nov 5, 2010 Limited
Box Office:$13.4M

Distributor:Fox Searchlight
Directed By: Danny Boyle
Written By: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy