David Farnor | On 09, Mar 2017

Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: James Franco
Certificate: 15
Watch 127 Hours online in the UK: All 4 / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Google Play

How do you follow up an Oscar for Best Picture? Chop James Franco’s arm off is how. At first glance that seems to be the main lesson from Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. The film is the true story of climber Aron Ralston (Franco), who enjoyed hopping around Utah canyons in 2003 until he found himself on the wrong side of a massive rock.

But Danny Boyle doesn’t start things there. Before the infamous joining of boulder and limb, we get a burst of movement, as Aron bounds from his apartment into the great outdoors. Accompanied by AR Rahman’s trademark thrilling cacophony of drums, the screen jumps around with chaotic rhythm. Boyle doesn’t miss a beat as he hammers out the exposition in the only way he knows how: with a shot of split-screen energy.

Then we meet two lost women, whom Aron races to help. After some watery frolicking, they leave, he goes back to his lone wolf lifestyle, and promptly gets pinned to a wall. That’s when the title pops up – a cheeky hint of the humour that Simon Beaufoy’s script (co-written with Boyle) has in store.

Yes, there are laughs to be had here, mostly thanks to Franco’s phenomenal performance. Leaving video messages to his mum and dad, he does desperate, determined and delirious, all the while breaking into terrified sweat. Unlike the similarly claustrophobic thriller Buried, we know where this story’s headed, but Franco’s acting keeps things compelling.

When the crucial arm-cutting sequence does arrive, it’s a painful watch. More tasteful than mere torture porn, the flash of red keeps Ralston’s bittersweet freedom from becoming too sugary. Failing that, there’s Boyle’s range of camera shots. It’s over-edited, perhaps, but the pans and zooms give 127 Hours its own identity in a growing sub-genre of single-location survival flicks. Boyle even shoves a camera inside the arm itself. For that alone, you’ve got to give him a hand.

94 minutes long, 127 Hours feels fast and brief. As a follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire, it’s a solid effort. As a story of survival, it’s incredible.

127 Hours is available on All 4 until 30th May 2021.

 

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