Fresh from celebrating his 2008 Best Director Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle finally gets to make the big Hollywood film he wants to.
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: James Franco
Rating: EE
I have my problems with Danny Boyle. I find his films very hit or miss. And I'm afraid to say, this one's a miss.
A brief plot summary:
Adrenaline junkie, Aron Ralston travels out to the back of beyond and gets himself trapped under a rock. Despite the obvious problems, to make matters worse, he hasn't told anybody where he was going, and it'll be at least 5 days before anyone thinks he might be missing. All thanks to the fact he's quite self centred, doesn't return his mother's phone calls, and people expect him to just dissapear for long periods of time when he does his own thing. The film follows Ralston's thoughts on his life in between his unsucessful attempts to free himself.
So it's the standard life affirming tale of one mans struggle against the elements as he also battles with his emotional baggage. Which is fine, we've seen this sort of story before, but it's a good story, so why not see it again? James Franco does the James Franco performance which works brilliantly here. He holds your attention throughout the film. A difficult task, considering for the majority of it, he's the only person on screen. And the Oscar nomination he's likely to get is well deserved.
But I left the cinema unimpressed by the film, and if the fault wasn't with the one man cast, it must lie with the director.
Despite what the Academy thinks, I still see Boyle as a TV director. Or more specifically, a MTV director. Style over substance. If you have great source material like: Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, or Slumdog, then the bizarre angles and flashy camera work make it a visual feast. But with a project like 127 Hours which should have been a slow, quite, emotional journey of a man contemplating life while facing death, Boyle's directorial style doesn't work. The whole film is too fast, you don't feel like it's set over 5 days, you don't feel Ralston's hunger or thirst. Every moment of doubt is followed by a joke, and Boyle signiture sequences of knife on bone, or the flood remove any sense of connection with the real life scenario.
However, there is one nerve tingling scene which is handled expertly. People were squirming, hiding their eyes and looking away. My only complaint would be it didn't last long enough. I wanted to see more. And I think that's what dissapointed me most. At that point Boyle proved to me that he was the man for the job. That he can direct cinema. He just doesn't do it very often.
127 Hours: as a film, far too short. As a music video, far too long.
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