127 Hours

In 2003, a guy named Aron Ralston got his hand pinned down by a boulder while hiking in Blue John Canyon, Utah. After five days, he managed to free himself via amputation. And now, his memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, is the basis for the now-Oscar nominated film 127 Hours.

In the film, Ralston (James Franco) is portrayed as an overly-bold adventurer who does things his way. So much so, that none of his family know he’s gone off hiking. And now, no one knows of the fall down the crevice which ends when hand meets boulder. “Oops,” Aron says, accurately sums this up.

It’s a one-man show for the duration of the very compact 94 minutes runtime. Fortunately, it’s Franco’s performance that helps to keep the audience interested in his character. Throughout the film, he portrays Aron as not only bold and funny, but also quite rational under duress. When he finally breaks loose, the moment is pure satisfaction for all.

It also helps that Franco has a capable director as Danny Boyle on the opposite end of the camera. With editor Jon Harris, and a few key Oscar-winning crew members of Slumdog Millionaire, he turns a story that’d sound boring on paper into quite a thrilling, and uplifting experience.

Oh yes, and be ready when that scene occurs. Chances are, it’ll stick in your mind for at least the next few hours.