Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn
I'm assuming most of you that read this are aware of what this movie is about. I had intended to watch this movie for a long time, but couldn't bring myself to watch, knowing what he has to do to get himself out of his situation. I was assured again and again that the scene in question was not as gruesome as I feared and not to be worried. Let this be my warning: IT IS PRETTY HARD TO WATCH.
*WARNING: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH
Let me back up a bit. The film is the real-life story of outdoor adventure-seeker, Aron Ralston. In 2003, Aron takes off for an off-road biking/hiking/rock exploration adventure through a Utah Canyon. This type of adventure is normal for him, so he doesn't think to notify anyone where he is going. Along the way he meets two young women and shows them the thrill of a lifetime when they drop into water from a tight spot in the rocks. He takes off on his own again, promising to meet them at a party. As he runs through the canyon, he falls with a boulder and has his arm trapped against the side of the canyon by the rock. The remainder of the movie ticks away the 127 hours he is trapped, during which he films short messages to his family on his camcorder and becomes increasingly delirious from lack of water. His hallucinations are interspersed with scenes enacting memories. After filming his goodbyes, he slips into a hallucination of a young boy that he does not recognize, but feels is the son he does not yet have. With all of his remaining energy, he breaks the bones in his forearm and uses his cheap multi-tool to sever his arm. As mentioned, this scene is hard to NOT be gross, but it was certainly worse than I had heard (or maybe I'm just more squeamish than I thought.) The end of the film shows shots of the real-life Ralston with his now wife and kids, as well as enjoying skiing and other outdoor sports.
The movie itself was good, despite being in the middle of James Franco deciding he was the best thing to happen to film and/or tv. He did hold his own as basically the only actor onscreen for the majority of the movie. It was emotional and well done, but certainly not the perfect movie. I'll give it a 7/10
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