Aron Ralston (James Franco) is an outdoor enthusiast.  He’s decided to take a weekend out alone in Moab, Utah.  Unfortunately he has an accident while out this time and ends up getting his arm stuck under a rock and spends the next 127 hours trying to get free.

When the project was announced and I heard that it was about a man who got himself stuck under a rock while out climbing I was very iffy about the film; and then I read about how Aron survived this ordeal and then I was hooked.  I don’t want to oust myself as a sadist, but at the same time I’ve only seen the first Saw movie and have no intention of every watching any of that franchise ever again – unless of course someone bets me something fierce.  The idea of man being put to that choice intrigued me and wanting to know how far he went before that thought came to mind is something I wanted to see on screen.

The film, even though it isn’t exactly, works as a one-man show. Franco is on screen for the, more-or-less, full runtime of the film – with a handful of exceptions when we are taken into a flashback where Aron is a child – and he shows us why he’s one the better young actors today.  He’s able to bring a presence to the film which no matter how dark the content takes us we never feel a need to start staring at our watches wondering when it’ll get to the point.

The movie opens with Aron preparing to head out on Friday night so that he can get an early start in the morning in the rocks.  We see the missteps, which are highlighted for us by the camera, in preparation for the trip when Aron is gathering his equipment but we also get tidbits of his life.  Including hearing his sister on the answering machine as he walks out the door knowing that he and his family aren’t that close at present, for what reason I don’t know.  These ideas are delved into deeper as we are treated to a ton of monologues by Aron as he talks to himself or the camera that he has on hand while he finds himself stuck alone basically waiting to die.

What I have to say about this film that is particularly special is how Boyle is able to run me through a stream of emotions so effortlessly.  There are times where you want to think of Aron as a fool and times where you want to pity him and his situation; most of the time it falls on the pity side.  However, when the movie was coming to a close not only do you feel the triumph that Aron has made over the last five days but you just want to cry.  The final moments of the film was so emotionally engaging that I personally wanted to start crying in the theatre.

Even though this film isn’t a perfect 10 for me it’s nothing less than a cinematic achievement.  The film thrives on moments of intensity, not unlike a certain Best Picture winner from last year (The Hurt Locker), where there isn’t so much a lot of narrative occurring in any specified moment but the action being shown on screen demands your complete and utter attention.  This is not be mistaken for the attention required to decipher the happenings of say a David Lynch movie – yes I’ll be making the jab often I believe – but the kind of attention where you’re so enthralled in what’s happening you can’t imagine to care that the guy sitting next to you in the theatre just went unconscious (or something like that).

It’s a movie that you should see at least once before the year is out and I can’t wait to see it again just to test how much I enjoy it on repeat viewings.

IMDB says 8.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 93%

I say 9.0/10