The BFI London Film Festival bowed out in style last Thursday with the premiere of Danny Boyle’s ‘127 Hours’,  a story about Aron Ralston, an adrenaline-junkie always on the lookout for another adventure. Played by the talented James Franco, ‘127 Hours’ is based on Aron Ralston’s true story of an exciting escapade gone horribly wrong.

When carefree Ralston is travelling through Utah’s canyons equipped with only a day’s worth of water and food, a digital camera, climbing equipment and a cheap pen-knife, he begins a journey that could cost him his life. After an exhilarating introduction to the daredevil Ralston, he finds himself trapped in an isolated canyon when a fallen boulder crashes on his arm. Having told no one his whereabouts, Ralston realises it might take weeks before another soul stumbles across him.

As spectators to the five days it takes Ralston to bravely figure out a way to free himself, we are taken on a journey of a man who  believes he is dying, and his ability to deal with being starved, secluded and trapped.

Ralston’s only company is his digital camera, a fundamental feature in the production which used the footage from his time trapped in the canyon as a vital source for the screenplay’s recreation and Franco’s accurate performance.

Although such an incredible true story, the film may sound like it has the potential to be both gory (which it is at times) and tedious. However, Danny Boyle surpasses these negative expectations by delivering another visually pleasing, entertaining movie with an upbeat ending and an amazing soundtrack.

The cinematography of this movie is unmistakably Boyle-esque; the camera angles and sounds make you feel as if you can see, hear and touch every aspect of this setting. Although there has been a lot of hype regarding audience’s queasy reactions to the more graphic scenes, Boyle makes it easy to know when to turn away.

To focus on the gore involved in this film would be to overlook the energy and will of Ralston’s character and the warm message behind such a tragic yet triumphant situation. As Ralston says deep into the movie, “this rock has been waiting for me my whole life” and as he recalls his family, friends, past love and the two friendly hikers he met before his accident, he figures out what’s important in his life and what more he has to offer.

Due to the nature of the film, Franco’s performance was vital to the success of its representation and he does a superb job of playing out the warmth and playfulness of Ralston’s character alongside the desperation, frustration and fortitude that allows Ralston to survive. This is not just a film based on a true story, it’s an inspiring film based on one man’s determination to survive.