The film is superbly directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting). What could have been an overly dramatic, tedious tearjerker becomes, in Boyle’s hands, a gruesome yet humorous look at a young man’s will to survive. His well-thought-out direction encompasses split-screen, documentary handicam, fantasy sequences and the incredibly powerful grandeur of the landscape. Flashbacks and premonitions keep the story moving along.
A thoughtful soundtrack sets the tone. Instead of using sweeps of dramatic music to escalate the drama, the underlying tracks provide an accompaniment to the characters. For Franco’s scenes, we hear grungy techno; the other main character, nature, is often accompanied by silence.
The R-rated 127 Hours, which hits theaters Nov. 5, is definitely not for the squeamish, but truly worth seeing. It’s an inspirational story of someone who faces death, realizes life’s worth and how one’s actions can have grave consequences.
