A scene from the trailer for 127 Hours.
Danny Boyle's new film, 127 Hours, starring James Franco, is causing some audience goers to drop like flies. At the film's premiere at Ryerson Sunday night, one woman had to be taken from the packed hall -- and three others passed out at a prior screening.
Boyle's previous film, Slumdog Millionaire, was a huge hit at TIFF before it went on to pick up seven Academy Awards in 2008. Given that 127 Hours received a standing ovation on Sunday, it seems the British director may have another critical hit on his hands. The 90-minute film, which has very little dialogue and is basically a one-man show, is an unflinching portrayal of the five days and nights that Colorado climber Aron Ralston spent trapped in deep crevasse, his right arm pinned under a huge rock. Desperate to escape, he uses a knife to saw off his arm above the wrist.
When the self-amputation was re-enacted on the screen, the Ryerson crowd cheered. At the Q & A following the screening, Ralston choked up when asked what it was like to see his experience re-played on the big screen.
"The hardest thing to watch wasn't something on the screen," he told the crowd. "It was turning to the right and left, looking at my sister and my wife."