I did not want to see this movie at first, mostly because Danny Boyle directed it, and a little bit because of all the people passing out and what not (Thanks for warning us Ragtag). I still hate Danny Boyle, but I didn't pass out or get sick. The only time that I felt queazy during the whole movie was when he had to cut through a nerve in his arm and this screeching metallic sound came out, and even then I was mostly getting sick remember the pain from my two recent bouts with MRSA. All in the all the gore was handled well, at times it looked a little fake, but Franco's acting made it seem very real. And it must have been fun for him to film that, walking around with the blood all over his face and what not.
My only complaints about the film are rather minor. First of all, he was trapped in the canyon for 127 hours, and if a guy goes that long without shaving, his facial hair starts to grow. Throughout the entire thing, his facial hair stayed the same, so the passage of time was a bit skewed.
Another problem I had comes from Boyle himself. I am the farthest thing from a fan of Danny Boyle's style that you can get, but in the beginning of the film it worked because it suited the life style of the main character. I still didn't like this style, but I could accept it. Once things got intense, however, the style no longer suited the story. James Franco was doing an amazing job and there were many times that I thought to myself "Stop reminding us that your directing this and let him act, he is carrying this scene just fine". I wish that Boyle would have trusted Franco more.
Now that we have that out of the way, this film was really good. I was afraid that it was going to be an hour and a half of a guy cutting his arm off, and it definitely was not. It truly takes us on a journey that starts in canyon, but travels though time and space to reveal a complex character who's ultimate reason for living was to end up trapped by a rock. Franco gives an incredible performance of a man teetering between madness and sanity, and more importantly life and death. He has joined the ranks of few actors that can carry an entire film by themselves, and he deserves the Oscar buzz he is getting. I squirmed more before he cut off his arm than I did when he actually did it, and I believed everything that I was seeing.
I really like that the film answered the question of what happens when you wear contacts and don't get a chance to take them out. There was a flashback in which it was revealed that Aaron wore glasses, which leads to the logical assumption that he now wears contacts since he is not wearing glasses. Having worn contacts myself I wondered if they were going to over look this detail, but they answered my question in great length, which added to the realism of the story.
The theme of this film was also very touching. Aaron learns that being a hot shot, independent guy is not what matters. He realizes that being close to people is not a sign of weakness, but instead of necessity . In the end he is able to ask that four letter word that is so hard to speak, but so crucial to being a part of society. No one can do this alone.
One last side note about the technology in this film. Franco's character carries a camera and a video camera throughout the film, and I would just like to say thank you to the crew for using appropriate models foe the time. I see those cameras come in all the time. Something I found interesting was that his still camera was a sony and his video camera a cannon. If the story were set today, those would probably be switched.
Anyways, go see this film. It is fantastic. It may not make you like Danny Boyle, but James Franco is worth it. He really proved himself as a powerhouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment