What the WHAT. This is a movie based on a true story, about a man who went hiking by himself, then in some freak accident of nature, got his hand caught between a boulder and a cave wall and eventually to escape he had to CUT HIS ARM OFF. Hello, my worst nightmare ever. Let's start giving credit where credit is due, director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionare) and actor James Franco (if you don't know who he is, find a computer or something) prove that they are both huge forces in their respective fields. This movie accomplishes the incredible and daunting task of producing an engaging, entertaining and well made movie that basically consists of one scene. I mean, about twelve minutes into the movie he gets stuck. Sooo....he's stuck. I mean imagine pitching that:
"So, I wanna do this movie, it's this guy who has his arm stuck and he can't move"
"He's stuck? What do you mean he's stuck?"
"Like his arm is pinned down, he's stuck he can't move"
"Are there other people around him?"
"No, he's in a cave"
"What?"
"He was hiking by himself, so he's in this cave alone"
"So what this is like a short or an independent project?"
"No, it'll be a full length, feature film"
"...."
See how crazy?? But lemme tell you, they (Franco & Boyle) blow it out of the water. The movie is SO compelling that not only was I on the literal edge of my seat, and I bit all my nails off (an unfortunate habit that my mother abhors) I became one of those crazy people who talks during the movie, reacting to things as they are happening. In my mind for those minutes it was as if I magically solved the time space continuum and could with my utterances of "oh shit oh shit close the water. Just close the nalgene, it's going to fall. FUCK" somehow save James Franco, and in turn the real Aron Ralston. They were whispers though, don't worry, my movie etiquette is top notch. There's not really much more to say, even knowing what happens (in the six minutes his arm wasn't stuck during the movie, I kept trying to predict when it would happen, he would be walking touching all the rocks and my mind was going, "Don't do that. Don't do that, put your hands in your pockets") doesn't take anything away from the tension the film creates. It was basically akin to having an adrenaline rush for 93 minutes from doing nothing, from sitting in a chair eating popcorn. Incredible.
