Cinema Review: Not being a fan of gore, I put off seeing 127 Hours for a while but last night I finally gave in. What I got wasn’t a shock based gore fest like Hostel, but a slow build of strain and anxiety that led to a powerful emotional and physical release. By the time Aron Ralston (James Franco) got to that point my body was behaving in sympathy. As he made the incision in his arm and started hacking away my heartbeat upped its tempo and I felt the temperature in the cinema suddenly rise; I gnawed on my finger for a while and winced in sympathetic pain and then, as he finally broke free, I felt euphoria - seeing Franco move free of the rock felt strange - a shock to the system after being trapped with him for so long.   

James Franco’s performance is utterly believable and Danny Boyle’s direction keeps the film tense, exciting and emotionally connected despite being trapped in a hole for around 90 minutes. AR Rahman’s score is also fantastic. Despite being so well made, 127 Hours isn’t the most rounded, enjoyable film year but, by the end, you feel so closely involved in an intense, exceptional situation that it’s hard to leave the cinema not feeling physically and emotionally shaken… and fully satisfied with the experience.