Salty Lemons

Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce, UT from my 2005 archive

Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce, UT from my 2005 archive

April 16, 2011

"127 Hours"

The opening scenes where James Franco's character, Aron Ralston is biking through the Utah landscape is breathtaking. So lovely, exquisite cinematography. It reminds me of when I went to Bryce Canyon. The Swede and I road tripped from California to Michigan (where we were going to live for two years while I went to graduate school). The Swede had never been to the Grand Canyon and wanted to go. Since I have been there too many times to count, my Father recommended Bryce Canyon as an alternative. It is not as vast as the Grand Canyon, but arguably more beautiful in the colors of its strata of rocks. Amazing.

When "127 Hours" first came out in the theatres, it piqued my interest, but I did not think I would be able to stomach it. So I waited for it to release on Netflix, thinking somehow viewing the whole cutting off your own arm thing on a smaller screen would be less severe. Wow. James Franco gave a convincing performance. He carried the movie well with mainly an internal dialogue and laser point facial expressions. Portraying natural facial expressions is no easy feat. Have you ever seen yourself caught on video or in a photo and thought, "Ugh, my face, why am I making that face?" The climax of his performance for me was when his character first gets his hand trapped by the boulder. The shock on Franco's face is so genuine, I could feel his panic. His performance can be compared to Tom Hank's in "Cast Away." I, of course wish there had been more of the landscapes shots of Utah, but I get that the movie is about Aron Ralston's mental and physical struggle to survive. What a story.

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