'127 Hours' a stirring story

Director: Danny Boyle

Cast: James Franco, Kate Mara, Lizzy Caplan

Film fans have two towering performances to delight in this week, that of Colin Firth as King George V1 in The King’s Speech and, here, Franco in a harrowing, gripping, gory and true story of climber Aron Ralston’s ordeal when trapped under a boulder for five days in Utah in 2003.

If you don’t already know how, or even if, he extracted himself you should be prepared for one of the screen’s most stomach-churningly bloody scene ever made … even if makes for a compellingly dramatic moment.

Franco gives a quite stunning one-man performance which Boyle bolsters by characters from Ralston’s life, conjured up in dreams and flashbacks.

A stirring story of courage and fortitude told with heart and passion … simply great moviemaking.

Star Rating: 5/5