127 Hours

"127 Hours"
Starring: James Franco, Kata Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Clemence Poesy
Directed by: Danny Boyle
USA/2010
94 minutes

2010 has been a year of great collaborations, and Danny Boyle and James Franco can now add their names into the mix. Boyle, the exciting director that is often praised for his exuberant visual style, turns out to be a more than suitable choice to tell the story of Aron Ralston, who at the age of 28, had to cut off his own arm after being trapped under a boulder.

Mixing excitement with anguish, Boyle's newest film starts as a jolt of adrenaline, and what follows is a draining myriad of terror, frustration, regret, and survival. James Franco happens to be the catalyst for Boyle's signature storytelling. Appearing in almost every shot, it's Franco who makes us care about the true life Ralston. Franco has won audiences over before, but his charm and carefree spirit is what translates into the vivid portrayal of Ralston. Who would have thought that the stoner from Pineapple Express could play a true life climber who cut off his own arm?

As the film starts, we're quickly introduced to the adventurous Aron and his craving and admiration for the outdoors. Think of him as a version of Christopher McCandless from Into the Wild, but without all of the romanticism and self-righteousness running through his veins. Ralston is a mountain climber canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah when we first meet him. Boyle opens the picture with many split screen shots, some displaying the hustle and bustle of the busy city life that Ralston doesn't seem to be interested in. What the film doesn't do is hammer home Ralston's beliefs; he's essentially an island unto himself, not arrogant, but a self-doer, this is all we need to know.

Ralston comes into contact with two female climbers who seem to be lost. They're drawn into Ralston's free spirit and knowledge of the area. He's the kind of guy who gets his high's from giving them a detour where all three dive into crystal blue water that is shot beautifully by ace cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. The three say goodbye, and Ralston is off to face his ultimate challenge.

Once Ralston get's trapped under a boulder, it's the ultimate quest for survival as his will to live is set against life threating odds. Ralston has limited resources, but makes the best out of him. He has little water, limited food, and a video camera to record of all his activity in case he doesn't survive. The 80 minutes after Ralston comes into contact with the two hikers could've come across as episodic, but the script by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy is relentless in graphing the highs and lows of Ralston's struggle.

It's important for us to care for Ralston and his cause, and the film offers little slivers of his past to paint a picture of what kind of person he is. He seems to have a nice home life, with two loving parents, and a younger sister. When things looks bleak, Ralston stages a faux-gameshow on his camera that serves as a humbling experience. For a guy who seems to have few problems in his life, he fails to mention to anyone where he went that weekend. Could it have gotten him saved earlier? Maybe.

The scene that has been spotlighted as the most shocking and gruesome scene of 2010 might be just that. We're waiting for it the whole movie, and when it arrives, it's as if nothing could've prepared us. As Ralston cuts off his arm, the tension is ratcheted up and we've now become Ralston in that moment. Boyle's musical cues are present throughout the film, but in this scene the atmosphere and tension suits the moment quite well, it's a unique blend of horror and liberation.

Franco provides an excellent physical performance as Ralston. He's in the same spot for the entire film, and although Boyle can manipulate shots to make it look as real as possible, Franco's sense of regret, comedic timing, and strength is what matters here. There's no telling how accurate the script is, but my guess is that it's pretty close to Ralston's true life experience. Boyle does his best to tone down the sentiment, but when it does arrive in the late stages of the film, we buy it.

I feel as if 127 Hours is one of Boyle's most accomplished works. My taste didn't warm to his last two efforts, but 127 Hours is something primal, dangerous, and intoxicating. It's hard to turn away from the near perfect blend of performance and style that the film provides.

Grade: 4/5

Carlos

"Carlos"
Starring: Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Beyer, Anna Thalbach, Susanne Wuest
Directed by: Olivier Assayas
330 minutes
2010/France

Olivier Assayas' "Carlos," is an in depth and sprawling look into the life of one of the world's most notorious terrorists. It tells the story of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who for two decades weaved his way through the complexities of international politics of the period. The film tries to put together who Carlos was by showcasing his various multi-layered identities. The man ultimately engaged his body and soul into a never ending struggle for his beliefs, and this film charts his rise and fall.

While "Carlos" has been broken down into different versions, the 330 minute version from Cannes is the one that I saw. Broken down into three parts for French TV, "Carlos" was screened on the Sundance channel at the beginning of October over three nights. The epic film is not only swiftly directed by Assayas, but includes a vast array of journalistic and factual insight that tries to create the most realistic version of Carlos possible.

With it's globe-trotting nature, and quick pacing, "Carlos" is some blend of "Munich," and "Zodiac." Names, dates, and times are all throw together creating a frenzy of 'who's who' in the global terror racket. While much of the breakneck pacing of "Carlos" is presented in the first few hours, the rest of "Carlos" is able to slow itself down and tell us more about the man. His political ties are always contradicting, making his persona even more of an enigma. Edgar Ramirez plays Carlos with the right dose of sex appeal, charm, and rage. Ramirez speaks six languages in the film, and obviously went through drastic weight changes to play the controversial figure. One can't help but draw comparisons between the complexity of  Ramriez' work here, and the work of Benicio Del Toro in "Che."

The only downfall of "Carlos" is its inability to stimulate emotion from its audience. While most of it is based on thrills, some may shrug it off in its dire attempt to resonate. It resonated for me, mostly because of Ramirez' performance and the fearless filmmaking on Assayas' behalf. The film works in one sitting, or broken down into multiple viewings. The scope of the narrative is so dense, but endlessly intrigues with its array of violence, locales, and characters.

Grade: 4/5