127 Hours

Year: 2010

Grade: B+

Country: USA, UK

Director: Boyle

Review

one of the year’s best films because it works on a few different levels and is well-executed. i saw the real aron ralston on letterman shortly after this happened to him and he came off as cocky, smart, and matter-of-fact. there’s a difference between carefree and careless and i think ralston, on this occasion, was certainly careless and he paid the price. that’s really what the story is about. it’s not as great a survival story as shackleton’s crew or even the one told in touching the void, but it has more personal symbolism than those stories, which are purely stories of (amazing) feats of survival. ralston’s story here is more about the realization that he’s a selfish, somewhat unkind, hubristic person. he’s forced to confront the reality of his situation in life as well as being stuck in the canyon.

it’s well-shot and a pretty engaging film considering not much actually happens. there are some good bits that keep it fun and interesting like the bit where franco does a game show bit with himself. boyle doesn’t disappoint.

Watched in theater