SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: 127 HOURS

"127 HOURS"
(2010) (James Franco, Kate Mara) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Extreme	Minor	Heavy	Minor

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Heavy	Mild	Minor	Heavy	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Minor	Moderate	Heavy	Heavy

QUICK TAKE:: Drama/Suspense: A hiker must contend with being trapped in a deep, narrow and desolate desert canyon after a boulder pins his arm and prevents his escape.

PLOT:

Aron Ralston (JAMES FRANCO) is an outdoor enthusiast and adrenaline junkie who doesn't give a second thought about heading out into the deserts of Utah by himself for a little fun and exploring. After meeting and briefly hanging out and playing with fellow hikers, Christie (KATE MARA) and Megan (AMBER TAMBLYN), Aron sets off on his own.

While exploring a deep and narrow canyon, he ends up slipping, inadvertently pulling a large boulder down with him. It wedges between the walls of the canyon, pinning his lower arm to one side, thus trapping him there. After yelling for help does no good as no one is within miles and maybe even more, he accesses his situation and then tries to figure out how to free himself.

Although he doesn't give up, he realizes that his small amount of food and water won't support him for long, while his injured arm isn't helping matters. Accordingly, he uses his video camera to leave messages for his parents should be not make it but be found sometime in the future. As the hours and then days pass, he has flashbacks to childhood memories and other past events, as well as hallucinations, all of which eventually lead to a spiritual rebirth of sorts for him.

Newly determined, he then must decide if he has the resolve to go to extreme measures to give himself the chance of surviving.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're fans of James Franco, director Danny Boyle or are familiar with the real-life story, it probably isn't too likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language and some disturbing violent content/bloody images.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: JAMES FRANCO plays an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking through the desert and exploring its various features. It's during one such excursion where he suddenly slips and a boulder falls with him, pinning his arm to the wall of a deep, narrow and desolate desert canyon. With no one within miles and maybe even farther away, Aron assesses his situation and tries various ways to free himself. During that time, and as the hours and days pass, he begins remembering events from his past while also hallucinating, all of which serve as a spiritual reawakening of sorts for him. He uses strong profanity, and must resort to extreme measures in hopes of freeing himself.
KATE MARA and AMBER TAMBLYN play two young women Aron meets while hiking and they briefly spend time playing with him in the desert.; KATE MARA and AMBER TAMBLYN play two young women Aron meets while hiking and they briefly spend time playing with him in the desert.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this dramatic thriller that's been rated R. Profanity consists of at least 17 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. There's a brief scene of fooling around, another where many people are apparently nude in a vehicle (for the effect of doing so in the cold), apparent attempted male masturbation, and a few views of scantily clad women.

Violence consists of a man breaking and then amputating his own arm, seen in full, graphic detail, in order to free himself after a boulder smashes and pins his limb. That same man drinks his own urine, also to survive. The amputation as well as the overall situation of being trapped in such a predicament could be unsettling and/or suspenseful to viewers.

There's alcohol related content, potentially imitative behavior, tense family material and thematic elements. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from lightning at night.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, varying amounts of handheld and bouncy camerawork occurs often in the film, as does POV footage of driving, biking and such.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: The opening song, "Never Hear Surf Music Again" by Free Blood has lyrics such as "Take it if it makes you numb, take it if it makes you come," "Never gonna get enough" and "Never gonna take too much."
We see beer in Aron's fridge.
We see a billboard advertising beer.
As they part ways, Christie tells Aron he should come by and have a beer at their upcoming party.
Aron imagines the above party and various people drinking beer.
Aron images beer in another scene.
Aron says he needs to be chilled like sauvignon blanc (wine).

BLOOD/GORE: We see some blood on the wall where the boulder has pinned Aron's arm.
About his situation, Aron states to himself, "I'm in pretty deep doo-doo here."
We see Aron's urine stream, and he states he nearly "pissed my pants."
Aron smells his collected urine, and states there have been no "number twos" (bowel movements) in his current stuck state.
Aron stabs his knife into his forearm (tightening the tourniquet higher up his arm) and we see blood, as well as an internal view of the blade, while he talks of hitting the bone. He then sticks his finger partially into the hole and then puts that finger into his mouth, tasting the blood.
Aron drinks his own urine, has to keep himself from retching, and jokes that it's no Slurpee (and mentions a "bag of piss").
After purposefully breaking his arm, Aron then begins to cut into his forearm, slicing ever deeper, causing him pain (including when he must cut through muscle or tendons) and a great deal of blood (on his arm, his free hand, the knife, and his mouth and face after holding the knife in his mouth). We then see his bloody arm still left wedged between the boulder and rock wall, while he wraps the bloody stump on his body.
Aron finds a puddle and drinks the dirty/nasty water.
We see blood on the material covering Aron's stump, with some dripping off that.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: In a flashback or imagined scene, Aron (coming out of the shower) doesn't pick up the phone when his mom calls.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Aron has Christie and Megan follow him on a certain route through the desert that results in the three of them wedging their bodies between two vertical rock surfaces. He then slips and disappears in his fall that then results in him landing in a body of water. They then realize he did that on purpose and for fun, so they reluctantly do the same, one after the other, and then repeatedly do that for fun.
While descending through a canyon, Aron suddenly slips and a boulder falls with him down several stories where it ends up wedged, pinning his hand to the wall (where we see some blood).
As the camera pulls up from the canyon in which Aron is trapped, we realize how small and desolate that crack in the Earth really is.
Aron drops the pocketknife he's been using to chisel the boulder. He then struggles to retrieve it down below him, using a stick held between his toes to snag and slowly pull it up to him.
Aron must contend with the temperature dropping into the 40s at night while he's trapped.
Aron wraps a tourniquet around his trapped arm and tries cutting his forearm with his pocketknife blade, but it's too dull to cut through the skin.
Sudden lightning and thunder startles Aron. That's followed by increasing amounts of rain and then floodwaters entering the deep canyon where he's trapped. The waters quickly rise and eventually go over his head (but this is all imagined, including him freeing himself and getting back to civilization, etc.).
As the story progresses, Aron's water supply continues to dwindle until he's finally completely out.
We hear Aron's pounding heartbeat on the soundtrack while we see him clutching his chest.
Aron stabs his knife into his forearm (tightening the tourniquet higher up his arm) and we see blood, as well as an internal view of the blade, while he talks of hitting the bone. He then sticks his finger partially into the hole and then puts that finger into his mouth, tasting the blood.
Paranoid he's heard something behind him in the dark, Aron uses his camera to fire a flash and we see his imagined view of an inflatable Scooby Doo there.
Some ants are on Aron's face.
Aron breaks his own arm and then does so again (we hear the loud crack/snap both times), all as preparation for self-amputation.
He then begins to cut into his forearm, slicing ever deeper, causing him pain (including when he must cut through muscle or tendons) and a great deal of blood (on his arm, his free hand, the knife, and his mouth and face after holding the knife in his mouth). We then see his bloody arm still left wedged between the boulder and rock wall, while he wraps the bloody stump on his body.
Aron makes his way out through the narrow canyon to a rock ledge from which he nearly slips. He then rappels off that, a long way down toward a puddle of water. He then hikes by himself through the rocky terrain.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Aron uses a dull knife to amputate his arm in a long and arduous process.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Move this f*cking rock," "How the f*ck did that get here?" "A big f*cking hard hero," "He's bat-sh*t," "You're bat-sh*t," "Piece of sh*t," "This is insane," "I'm in pretty deep doo-doo here," "This is freaking me out," "I almost pissed my pants," "Need to be chilled like sauvignon blanc," "It's no Slurpee," "A bag of piss," "You look like the hole in the wall gang" and "Dorks."
A miscellaneous person is seen with an arm tattoo.
Aron has Christie and Megan follow him on a certain route through the desert that results in the three of them wedging their bodies between two vertical rock surfaces. He then slips and disappears in his fall that then results in him landing in a body of water. They then realize he did that on purpose and for fun, so they reluctantly do the same, one after the other, and then repeatedly do that for fun.
Aron wraps a tourniquet around his trapped arm and tries cutting his forearm with his pocketknife blade, but it's too dull to cut through the skin. He later breaks and then amputates that arm.
Aron drinks his own urine, has to keep himself from retching, and jokes that it's no Slurpee (and mentions a "bag of piss").

JUMP SCENES: Sudden lightning and thunder startles Aron.
Paranoid he's heard something behind him in the dark, Aron uses his camera to fire a flash and we see his imagined view of an inflatable Scooby Doo there.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in the film as does a greater amount of pounding rock music (in a tense moment).

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): The opening song, "Never Hear Surf Music Again" by Free Blood has an "F" word in it, and lyrics such as "Take it if it makes you numb, take it if it makes you come," "Never gonna get enough" and "Never gonna take too much."

PROFANITY: At least 17 "f" words, 5 "s" words, 1 crap, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "God," "Jesus" and "Swear to God."

SEX/NUDITY: The opening song, "Never Hear Surf Music Again" by Free Blood has lyrics such as "Take it if it makes you numb, take it if it makes you come," "Never gonna get enough" and "Never gonna take too much."
Aron asks Christie and Megan about which way they want to get to a particular destination, saying one will be a guaranteed best time they can have with their clothes on, although he jokingly adds that it's better with them off. He's talking about them wedging their bodies between two vertical rock surfaces and then going limp to allow themselves to fall a long way into a body of water below them. They do this repeatedly, with Christie taking off her shirt down to her sports bra (or the equivalent).
We see a flashback to Aron in the shower (head and shoulders) and then in his place in just a towel.
Aron imagines a woman in a bikini top.
We see a flashback to Aron and many other young people (women and men) stripping in a vehicle parked out in the snow. Beyond bare backs, we don't see any explicit nudity, but it's implied they're all fully nude to experience the thrill of the cold air on the bare skin.
We see a flashback to Aron in bed with his girlfriend. Both are presumably nude (we see her bare shoulders as she's on her side while he's on his back, shirtless) and she talks about trying to crack his "combination" (presumably to his heart). She then runs her hand down his chest and under the sheets saying she thinks she already has the combination (presumably meaning stimulating will do the job).
Aron watches video playback on his camera of Christie and Megan in the watering hole, and he pauses the video on a shot of one's cleavage. He then puts his hand down inside his pants (nothing seen) and is then upset when nothing apparently happens.
We see Aron shirtless while swimming.

SMOKING: We briefly see a person holding a cigarette in an imagined party scene.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Thinking he's likely going to perish, Aron leaves a video message for his parents on his camera and then records more such messages.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The historical accuracy and/or any artistic license taken with the real story.
How far you would go to save yourself if stuck in a similar situation.
The importance of letting others know where you're going in case something happens to you.
The fact that this ordeal didn't prevent Aron from continuing to be an outdoor enthusiast and adventurer.

VIOLENCE: Aron takes a bad spill on his bike in the desert, but is okay.
While descending through a canyon, Aron suddenly slips and a boulder falls with him down several stories where it ends up wedged, pinning his hand to the wall (where we see some blood).
Aron stabs his knife into his forearm (tightening the tourniquet higher up his arm) and we see blood, as well as an internal view of the blade, while he talks of hitting the bone. He then sticks his finger partially into the hole and then puts that finger into his mouth, tasting the blood.
Aron breaks his own arm and then does so again (we hear the loud crack/snap both times), all as preparation for self-amputation.
He then begins to cut into his forearm, slicing ever deeper, causing him pain (including when he must cut through muscle or tendons) and a great deal of blood (on his arm, his free hand, the knife, and his mouth and face after holding the knife in his mouth). We then see his bloody arm still left wedged between the boulder and rock wall, while he wraps the bloody stump on his body.

Reviewed October 7, 2010 / Posted November 12, 2010

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