Here's the facts: Aron Ralston was climbing in the canyons of Utah when he fell and got his hand wedged by a rock, and cut it off to escape. Knowing this going into the movie already creates a level of anticipation to keep you on the edge of your seat. So how do you keep that level without losing the audience? Danny Boyle's style and James Franco's Aron, manage to show us the progression making us realize how it could happen to anyone.
Aron is up for an adventure through Blue John Canyon in Utah one Saturday and he packs up his gear and heads out. During his hike, he meets two young women who are semi-lost and shows them a remote area. They think he's a guide, but as he puts it, "I'm an engineer, but this is what I really want to do." After he leads them in the right direction, he continues to the canyon. He finds the canyon and as he's repelling himself down, a boulder shifts and pins his right hand. Now for the next 127 hours.
Soon after he gets pinned, you start feeling claustrophobic as the camera moves and gives you his unique perspective. With every angle change, you feel like you are maneuvering yourself out of the space. It's really uncomfortable, and almost interactive. The camera zooms out wide and the shot of the canyon amplifies his feeling of helplessness. As time progresses, you begin to realize that small tasks like taking off a watch are now feats to overcome.
This is not really a movie that you "enjoy," it's more of an emotional experience. Hearing the story you think to yourself that you could never to what Aron Ralston did. However, with each small event happening on screen, you begin to imagine how it could. The level of realism really pulls you in and can be difficult to watch at times. Like any true story, the point isn't what happened necessarily, but more of how it happened. I liked that it didn't go for the cheesy "inspirational" angle, just more about how, when faced with adversity, you do what you got to do. Big lesson from this movie: tell people where you are going JUST IN CASE.
Soon after he gets pinned, you start feeling claustrophobic as the camera moves and gives you his unique perspective. With every angle change, you feel like you are maneuvering yourself out of the space. It's really uncomfortable, and almost interactive. The camera zooms out wide and the shot of the canyon amplifies his feeling of helplessness. As time progresses, you begin to realize that small tasks like taking off a watch are now feats to overcome.
This is not really a movie that you "enjoy," it's more of an emotional experience. Hearing the story you think to yourself that you could never to what Aron Ralston did. However, with each small event happening on screen, you begin to imagine how it could. The level of realism really pulls you in and can be difficult to watch at times. Like any true story, the point isn't what happened necessarily, but more of how it happened. I liked that it didn't go for the cheesy "inspirational" angle, just more about how, when faced with adversity, you do what you got to do. Big lesson from this movie: tell people where you are going JUST IN CASE.
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