Directed by Danny Boyle

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Aron Ralston’s story made headlines around the world in 2003, so there are really no surprises as to what is going to happen in the film. In fact, a friend of mine almost ruined the film for me before I saw it by saying that the subtitle was “87 minutes until he cuts off his arm”. But Danny Boyle’s film is much more than a re-enactment of Ralston’s ordeal when he fell down a ravine in the Utah Desert and was trapped there for 5 days by a boulder pinning his arm to the rock wall.

Yes, he does end up severing his arm with a blunt penknife in order to escape, but the film takes the audience on a much greater journey of physical and mental survival.

James Franco does a great job at portraying Ralston and the opening split screen images show Ralston’s overdrive as he gets ready and makes his way towards the canyon. The lone adventurer has a brief interlude with a couple of female walkers and the audience gets a chance to admire the breath-taking scenery surrounding the actual location. When disaster strikes, the film turns into “an action movie where the hero can’t move” according to director Danny Boyle. Being an engineer, Ralston tries numerous ways to free himself but as time progresses, he becomes more introspective. His soul searching is addressed to his video camera as he tries to cling to sanity and come to terms with his demise.

Really, the actual part where he is forced to detach himself from the offending appendage is quite brief when compared to the excruciating scenes in the Saw franchise. Sourced from Ralston’s autobiography and his original video tapes, the film is testimony to the extraordinary bravery that real people are capable of when faced with death.

Lezly Herbert