If I ever needed an excuse not to go hiking before, I don't now. Not only was this story slightly more disturbing than Black Swan, it also managed to make two hours of a guy trapped under a rock interesting. Less than 20 minutes into the film the rock fell, and I was no less captivated by what followed than I was in the scenes proceeding the accident.
Now, the amputation scene was gross, but surprisingly it wasn't the most disgusting part of the movie. The scenes in which he consumed his own urine were so disturbing that I had trouble keeping my eyes on the screen. Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) did a fantastic job of incorporating music and sound into each of James Franco's actions and it kept the pace of a movie about a guy stuck under a rock faster than a movie about a future king stammering. Though it was a gruesome situation, at least he had a great soundtrack to accompany his misery. Each of the songs fit in perfectly and provided much needed personality to this film.
And that's my one complaint. While Franco did an excellent job of transitioning from adventure-seeker to crazed, frantic maniac, I felt that more background should have been given to Ralston to build up his personality and character a little more. I left slightly nauseous and concerned with replenishing my fluids, but not with a deeper understand of who this guy was as a human being. Yes, his actions were extreme, but most of them didn't happen until the very end when he became so crazed and desperate that anyone in his position would have probably done the same.
I'm now proud to say that I have seen every film up for Best Picture at the Oscars this year and my pick for Black Swan stands strong. However, I'm thoroughly impressed that I could be captivated by a guy stuck under a rock for two hours...well 127 hours but you get what I mean.
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