127 Hours (2010)

  So, you guys know how much I hate James Franco, right?  You're probably wondering why I even bothered to watch this movie.  It's because I'm so dedicated to you people.  I said I would watch all the Oscar nominees for 2010 and this is the absolute last one in the Best Picture category.  It was nominated for a bunch of them but I don't really know why.  Out of all the movies released in 2010, how did this one make the cut?

Based on the true story, hiker Aron Ralston (James Franco) falls down a crevasse and his arm is trapped under a small boulder.  He is stuck there for a little over five days before sawing his arm off to escape.

This is why you should always hike with a buddy.

Now, I'm not going to talk about the real person because I have no idea what he is actually like.  I am strictly discussing the character of Aron Ralston as played by Franco in this film.

Seeing as there's very little real action for most of the movie, as our main character is trapped under a rock, Danny Boyle exercises some of his trademarked surrealism.  He really likes acid yellow-tinged flashbacks and lucid fantasies.  In some of these, we see Aron's memories of his family, his regrets over breaking up with his girlfriend (Clemence Poesy), and his speculations of what his family is doing now.

It is interesting from a film-making point of view, because Danny Boyle takes very unexpected paths to tell a story, but I didn't enjoy watching the movie.  I didn't feel the catharsis that is supposed to happen when Aron finally gets free because I didn't care about him as a character.  I felt very detached from the whole affair.

If I remember correctly, Christy saw this when it was relatively new and she said that the arm-cutting scene was almost too much for her to watch.  She is much more squeamish than I am, though I will say that the sudden discordant bursts of music whenever he tried to cut the nerve made me grate my teeth.  As always, your mileage may vary.