BY MILA PANTOVICH
PRIDE STAFF WRITER

“127 Hours” is a triumph of modern filmmaking, effortlessly displaying the endless pit of talent within director Danny Boyle and actor James Franco. Telling the remarkably true story of Aron Ralston, Boyle blends heartbreaking fantasy with an excruciatingly painful reality in a film that has visual and emotional resonance. Pulsating with energy, “127 Hours” traps you beneath a boulder and keeps you there in the sweetest of agony as you feel the crushing weight of desperation and the sharp sting of hope.
Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later,” and Academy Award winning “Slumdog Millionaire”) and Simon Beaufoy adapted Aron Ralston’s autobiography, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” bringing Ralston’s amazing experience to the big screen. Ralston was made a household name when, while hiking alone in 2003, he found his arm trapped beneath a large boulder, forcing him to amputate his own forearm with a short, dull blade. “127 Hours” beautifully brings those long excruciating days Ralston spent trapped, with limited food and water, to audiences around the world as the ultimate survival story.
The way Boyle makes use of the human senses will linger with you long after the movie has ended, showcasing his unarguable talent. Danny Boyle is proof that long-lasting filmmaking, which will inspire for decades, is possible within the Hollywood bubble. By the time the film ends you will feel like you survived with Ralston and that together, you both just accomplished something no one else in the world ever has. With your chest constricted from a feeling you have no name for, Aron Ralston’s story will bury its way into your mind, acting as a constant reminder of human potential and the overwhelming beauty of the world around us.