Just Watched: 127 Hours

I've been avoiding this movie for no other reason than I wanted to like it and was afraid I wouldn't.   I just couldn't quite imagine how the subject could be turned into a watchable movie without cheezing it up or being excruciatingly melodramatic.  Luckily this turned out to be a problem of lack of imagination on my part because the makers of this film did exactly that. 

If you don't recall, this is a film about  the true misadventure of Aron Ralston who had his arm trapped by a boulder while hiking in the Utah canyon lands.  Ultimately, Ralston needs to amputate his own arm in order to escape. 

This film was based on Ralston's own book on the event and evidently is very accurate in its depiction.  Part of what makes it so enjoyable is the way Ralston so logically attacks his predicament.  So often we watch stupid people doing stupid things but here we get to watch a intelligent guy trying reasonable things to free himself.  The director does a neat job of slowly revealing the strategies Ralston uses in his attempts to free himself so it feels as if you had the idea yourself.  This technique involves you in the process and helps you understand the final radical solution.

I ended up enjoying this movie a lot more than I thought I would. 

If you liked 127 Hours you may like these other films:  Das Boot,  Lifeboat or the Spencer Tracy film The Mountain


Comments

ShugBear said…
I've been avoiding this one because the subject matter is just to real and scary.
1:55 PM
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