127 Hours - **** out of ****

"127 Hours" is a movie that wouldn't work if lesser hands were involved. The story is deceptively simple, but what we are left with is a thrilling, suspenseful, and thought-provoking look into humanity. And what insights it gives us! This movie isn't entertainment- it's a gift. Perhaps it's not a gift that you think you want, but in the end, you will want it.

Aron Rolston (James Franco) is an adventurer who often takes off for long weekends just to get high on himself. He knows most of the landscape like the back of his hand, but what he makes us see he doesn't want anyone else to see. It's not like we're privileged- we're just the audience. Not answering the phone when family calls, Aron takes off in the dark for the adventure that would change his life forever. That last line gives me indigestion, but it is true. Aron becomes trapped by a boulder for 127 hours.

Before you start quoting cliches, I should mention that this is a true story, and as the real Aron Rolston states, the closest to a documentary about what happened as can exist. Yes, that changes things dramatically.

Aron goes through all the stages of grief in different ways. Like a computer, he begins talking to his camcorder in order to document why he is trapped and what he'd need to get out. Gradually, his layers are stripped and we are allowed to see the real Aron during a brilliant scene where he states that the boulder had been waiting for him his entire life.

I may have mentioned the majority of the plot, but this is a journey. It's not about where it's ultimately going as the movie assumes you've heard the story or read the book beforehand but instead gives us insight into Rolston's psyche as layers are torn down. There's a wonderful comedic scene where Aron interviews himself with canned audience reactions and a triumphant finale which involves a couch, but none of this would work if there was not a perfect actor to take the lead. That actor is James Franco.

James Franco is Aron Rolston. I have no hesitation in typing those words. He embodies the man and channels everything directly through the screen as if it weren't there. Rolston is a loner, confident, and in no need of help from anyone. It's unclear what made him this way but what is clear is that he doesn't entirely love himself. These things crash down around him as he believes that he will die in this place.

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy wrote the screenplay with Boyle directing after his Oscar-winning work in "Slumdog Millionaire." The final result makes a brilliant use of splitting the screen in three ways so we can see how things happen that are meaningful. Crowds of people ignoring each other on the left, a cheering basketball game crowd on the right, and Aron in shadow in the middle is one of the opening examples. If you stopped during every one of these, you could write your own story on how they relate to the movie's story.

"127 Hours" very well may turn into necessary viewing and reading for film students. This is a wonderful film that shows us humanity in its weakest and most triumphant.

Rated R for language and some disturbing violent content/bloody images.
Check your local theater for showtimes.