127 HOURS
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Fox, MA, 94 minutes
AFTER his Oscar triumph with Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle delivers a gruelling but gripping account of extreme-sport-loving canyoner Aron Ralston’s famous story of survival in a remote Utah crevasse.
Trapped for days after a boulder falls on his right hand, Ralston eventually realises his only escape is to cut off his arm with a cheap pocket knife.
James Franco is excellent as Ralston, whose emotional journey and physical deterioration makes for compelling psychological horror.
Boyle makes his delirious flashbacks, hallucinations and dreams especially vivid.
There’s also black humour, as Ralston berates his own arrogance as if he’s a guest on a cheesy talk show.
The climactic moment – the one you are dreading through the whole movie – is not for the squeamish but it sure gets your nerve ends jangling and reminds you you’re alive.
Rating: 4 stars
