Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Movie Review: 127 Hours

To make a movie about a man who's stuck in the same place for such an extensive period of time is definitely not easy. Ask the people behind the film, Buried. To some extent, I can't help but compare the two films because they practically have the same concept and scope.

But while the director of Buried managed to keep the entire movie inside the box and never cheated by giving flashbacks or shots of whatever was outside the box, here Danny Boyle used every trick possible to make the visuals more exciting. Yes, he ratchets up the entertainment with a jazzed up, music video style complete with sharp edits and quick cuts that somehow drained the impact of the unfolding drama.

Sure, I never got bored with the film partly because of the stylized direction that kept everything entertaining throughout. But, the frenetic film editing and camera work - though undeniably clever - also somehow removed the focus from the main plot of this film. It suddenly felt a little gimmicky and lost the emotional response that one should have for a story of this kind. So, as far as the direction and editing goes, it's a mixed bag for me.

The scoring, on the other hand, was a totally different story though. I have nothing but good things to say about it. The sound mix was excellent as it made the experience that much more intense. And although some of the music selection felt a little misplaced, it strangely worked pretty well with the film - particularly the juxtaposition of the song Lovely Day to a scene of screaming agony. Brilliant!

But of course, the majority of the film was just about Aron Ralston and thank God he was played by the incredibly talented James Franco. True, the dialogue was limited - maybe save for a couple of scenes - but James Franco never lets up in his performance and did so much with so little, which was really the biggest triumph of the film in its entirety. He was charming, witty and his personality filled the screen with his talent. Plus, his performance was really intense, emotional and yes, never preachy.

Oh, and that controversial scene late in the film that caused a couple of people to faint in theaters was probably one of the most intense experiences I've ever witnessed to this kind of prolonged extent on screen. Seriously.

Ultimately, I was never bored by this film. Danny Boyle's fresh visual flair kept the movie extremely lively the whole way through but that - oddly - seemed to also be my biggest problem with the movie. If he only toned down just a little bit, this would've felt more authentic. Regardless, 127 Hours was still a good film. Riveting story. Lovely cinematography. Good screenplay. Excellent scoring. Unbelievable performance from James Franco.

RATING: 8/10

14 comments:

Will said...

Love every minute of this film. 127 Hours has flashbacks coz it's supposed to be inspirational, so it needed to show some characters that the dude is attached to. Buried, another film I liked, is character-focused coz it's more of a thriller, and the director wanted the audience to feel for Ryan Reynolds.

Wala lang. Hahaha.

DAM THE NATION said...

Will: That maybe true. Haha. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film (8/10), I just felt that the editing, in general felt overwrought. I know that's Danny Boyle's aesthetics and it worked really well with his other films, but not here I guess. Style over substance? Maybe.

Gigi said...

im gonna see this! thanks!

Smarla said...

Kinakabahan talaga ako sa last part, yung part na marami nga raw na nahimatay :O waaaah. pero im still going to watch din. feeling ko lang sigaw ako nang sigaw sa part na yun :P

Ed said...

inspirational movie. a friend of a friend bought a 20K bike after watching this.

sanriel said...

I think the overstylized and heavy editing is purposeful because Boyle wanted to show us that Aron Ralston is an active guy. The camera shots are wild, crazy, and really kinetic. He is also of the MTV generation and he wanted to show that with the music video-esque moments in the film. Sort of dinaan niya sa visual imagery yung pagdevelop ng character ni Aron. Although I appreciate the effort, I'm not too fond of the film. The best part, however, was the shaky cam sequence near the end after drinking the water from the puddle with the Sigur Ros music :)

Robbie said...

Dati ko pa to na-download.... before pa ata ako na-hospital. Pero hindi ko pa rin napapanuod hanggang ngayon. Wahahaha. Takot ako sa putol kamay scene.

DAM THE NATION said...

Gigi: Go ahead and watch it. I think it's worth the bucks naman. :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Smarla: That part was tough to watch. Sorry, but I wasn't looking at the screen for probably 80% of that scene. LOL.

DAM THE NATION said...

Ed: Wow. He must've liked this movie so much no? 20k bike. That's something. :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Sani: I understand what you're saying. I had no problems naman with the character development and I really thought that the creative decisions Boyle made was pretty clever - the split screens, the zooms outs, the flashy editing. It was just too much for my taste that the impact that resonated wasn't as strong as I was expecting. The execution was excellent but I just didn't feel anything - well, maybe a little - after the film. :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Robbie: Watch it. Haha. I know you're afraid of that controversial scene pero it's not that bad. Well, it is pero ok naman. :D

Mark said...

wow. this review is a blockbuster friend. lol

after watching this film, i wanna quit my job and go for an adventure!

DAM THE NATION said...

Mark: Indeed a blockbuster review. HAHA.

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