127 Hours - B+

In theaters. Rated R, 93 minutes. Trailer.

Acclaimed director Danny Boyle tells the captivating tale of Aron Ralston (James Franco), the hiker that got his arm stuck for 5 days and had to cut it off with a dull blade and hike several miles out of a canyon to survive. Boyle manages to turn a movie of the week plotline into an occasionally contemplative story about regret, selfishness, and human survival instincts. The film opens with Ralston's frenetic trip into the canyon and classic Boyle imagery and music (the excellent "Never Hear Surf Music Again" from Free Blood). Click below for more on 127Hours:

As Aron gets into the canyon, he befriends 2 lost hikers (DLP fave Kate Mara and someone other girl) and there are several scenes that are fun to watch but don't really add to the film. After about 20 minutes he has the fateful fall that leaves him irrevocably wedged in a canyon. He frantically tries to get out and it gradually sinks in what his predicament is. As he starts to try all sorts of ways to get out, he also begins to speak into his everpresent video camera. As the hours wear on, he gets loopy and also more sentimental as he records instructions on what to do, who to contact and his final thoughts for his parents. Boyle uses his dreams and imagination to play out the regret sequences and the premonitions about his future that propel him to make the ultimate sacrifice for his life.

Much has been made about the arm being cut off. I am a major violence wimp, and I didn't have a problem with it - Boyle handled it perfectly. The most cringeworthy part of the ordeal was the severing of the nerves complete with screechy sound effects. I enjoyed the primal urge of survival that propelled him to cut off the arm - the moment when he cracks his bones and then the bloody aftermath of his 'surgery' are very powerful. Those moments are so intense and personal that when the actual Ralston is shown it is impactful and almost eery because the audience feels like we have been through something so completely personal and crzy with him. The film has some similarities with Into the Wild. Worth your time.