Telluride Review Round-Up: "127 Hours"

When the trailer for Danny Boyle's true-life drama 127 Hours first arrived, I'll admit, I wasn't impressed. I was already iffy about putting the story of Aron Ralston on the big screen, and the trailer only solidified this early judgement. However, the reviews coming out of Telluride beg to differ, and after reading through the reviews that I've found so far, Boyle's latest has shot up quite high on my must-see list. There have even been reports that the film was so intense it caused one audience member to faint.

Peter Sciretta of /Film gives the film an impressive (9.5/10) and writes that Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy "really shine" in their depiction of Ralston's time trapped, immobile, and running out of food and water. He goes on to say that "[James] Franco gives the performance of his career and hits emotional levels I didn't believe the actor was capable of." He also praises the film's editing (over an hour of it is "Franco stuck between two walls") and cinematography, and concludes his review with the following summary: "127 Hours is a brilliant, gut-wrenching and moving cinematic experience." FirstShowing.net's Alex Billington also gives the film and Franco high praise and says that "Franco does indeed knock it out of the park with this," though he does say that while he thinks the film is great, "[he] couldn't get into it as much as Slumdog Millionaire or Buried." He also says that he feels the film's score isn't entirely appropriate and that it should have had "a more melodic, moody, conventional score."

Over at Cinematical, Eugene Novikov writes that the film is "gut-wrenching in a queasy, horror-movie way - a shield-your-eyes-from-the-screen, chuckle-in-relieved-astonishment sort of experience, done incredible well." However, despite praise for Franco's performance, Novikov doesn't seem convinced that it's really best-of-the-year material. He finishes his review by saying that the film is "extremely effective as a thriller, and moderately so as a minor character study. Adjust expectations accordingly and you'll have a good time."

Additional Reviews: [awaiting]

Telluride Verdict: A mesmerizing, harrowing depiction of Ralston's story, bolstered by superb direction from Danny Boyle and acting from James Franco.