During a time when I lived in Arizona, I often went hiking in the desert by myself. There is something about being alone in the wilderness by yourself that is rejuvenating. After seeing 127 Hours, though, you will think twice before heading off into the wilds alone.
In 2003, Aron Ralston was out hiking and climbing rocks when he fell in a canyon and a boulder trapped his arm. For the next five days, he struggled to stay alive and to try to figure out a way to escape. Anyone going to see the movie probably already knows how it ends. Knowing that, 127 Hours, which is based on Ralston’s book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, is pretty much what you expect.
Although I had hoped to be surprised in some way, there was not a lot beyond what I expected. The accident happens early in the movie, and then it builds toward the brutal ending, and it is rather explicit even if some of it is thankfully blurred out.
The ending, though, was somewhat surprisingly uplifting. In the loner’s struggle to get back to civilization and to get help from other people, there is a release from the anxiety. I am not sure, though, whether or not the release came from the telling of the story or whether, as in Mel Gibson’s The Passion, the movie slowly beats you into submission with its brutality so that you feel the emotion when you are finally released from that brutality.
Is it worth seeing? If you know what happens and you are still curious, 127 Hours is worth seeing. James Franco, as always, does a good job, which is important in a movie such as this where the lead actor must carry the film. The scenery is captivating and best seen on a big screen. And it is a compelling true story about what a human being can do in desperate circumstances.
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