I suppose there are only so many ways one can shoot the story of a man trapped alone, stuck in the same position for just over five days. Director Danny Boyle sought to largely avoid the problem by populating his characters claustrophobic world with the hallucinations of his friends and family.
This is something of a double edged sword. While it does resolve his major issue (having just one dude) without resorting to narration or outright assault on the fourth wall, it does serve to diminish the isolation and desperation that are the major trials of his situation. That and the whole trapped-under-a-rock thing.
But the film and it's actor do an admirable job of conveying the ordeal. With such a pivotal role the temptation must have been there to exaggerate and overact, to try to drive home the case for that Oscar, but James Franco manages to remain believable throughout. Yes, some of his conversations with his camera are a little out there, but mental projections aside, he acts as one would expect of a real person (albeit an initially self centred one) and not obviously a character. This was pretty vital in counteracting and balancing the unreal elements.
I adored the systematic approach he brings to his plight. The way that as an engineer he is able to thoroughly analyse just how screwed he is in his little hole, as well as the careful use the resources available to him. They really managed to express the fact that even minor actions are, in that environment, of significant consequence.
On the whole it's an excellent portrayal of the man's slide both physically and mentally, away from his initial position of upbeat and dauntless, even if the psychedelia is occasionally overwhelming. The change he finds in the cave, and not just the events are the key to his story. The arm becomes the sacrifice he must make, and when he is free there is no "body horror" of the divorced appendage, as it simply no longer belongs to him.
I can't really round this off without mentioning that there are some serious wince inducing moments within. How could there not be, really? The knowledge that this-really-happened adds a horrible biting edge to the business of removing a limb. Both the cracking and the cutting are potent nightmare fuel. There is also a distressing scene where he is forced, Bear Grylls style, to knock back several mouthfuls of his own whizz . The horror.
No comments:
Post a Comment