127 Hourszzzzzz!!!

Movie: 127 Hours
Starring: James Franco
Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Christian Colson, John Smithson, Danny Boyle
Music: A.R. Rahman
U.N.Owen's Rating: 3/5

Academy Award Winning director Danny Boyle teams up with another Academy Award Winner, AR Rahman, yet again. However, this time the movie is not solely adapted from a book but also based on a true story.


The movie begins with blaring music (courtesy Rahman) & glimpses of a hyper-active man. Enter Aron Ralston, daring & adventurous, who decides on a whim to pack his bags & prepare himself for some canyoneering. Armed with his trusty video recorder & a music player, Aron blazes through the desert-like lands on his bike & relishes the moment. He then stumbles upon two lost hikers, Kristi & Megan, who are apprehensive at first to trust him & accept his offer to guide them to their destination. They finally agree & begin to warm up to his quirky nature. After having fun with the two girls (falling through a gap into an underground jump), he bids them farewell & continues on his journey to Blue John Canyon. Once he reaches the canyon, horrible turn of events ensue. Aron falls through a narrow passage & finds himself wedged between the walls of the canyon, with his hand stuck to the wall. Futile attempts to free himself & his hand from the rock occur but they’re all in vain. As days go by, Aron struggles with his dwindling resources & suffers through the mental torture. He begins hallucinating about his family, friends, his girlfriend , his mistakes – he even records an impromptu “talk show” to control himself from completely “losing it”. With little to go on, Aron decides to do the inevitable – amputate his arm with his dull “cheap-a$$ Chinese knife”. Having done the impossible, Aron limps his way through the canyon & finds a bunch of hikers who save him. The movie ends with a montage of Aron’s (the real one!) life with his wife.


Now on to my criticism, I found the movie a tad bit long. It could have been cut short by about 20 minutes atleast, saving us from his babbles & unending hallucinations. Also I felt, Franco’s enactment of the amputation scene was not believable. Sure anyone would be exhausted but amputating without an anaesthetic let alone with a dull knife would make anyone scream & howl like a rabid animal. Apart from these minor glitches, I felt the movie was taken well. Cinematography was top-notch; the panoramic view of the canyon & the scene with the “my feet touching sunshine” deserve special mention. AR Rahman’s music & score was passable, not award-worthy material. However, with the current Oscar nominations for a film score, I think “If I Rise” will win! Apart from strong similarities with Spanish tennis star Fernando Verdasco, Franco’s acting was good if not award-worthy (second time I’ve used the word).


Verdict:-  Watch it or Skip it? If u want a dose of “adventure-gone-wrong” with a pinch of “Snoooze-flashback-effects” then you might find 127 Hours watchable. My verdict: Skip it or rent the DVD!