I love silent films.
One thing I love even more, is when a modern film incorporates the idea of silent cinema, and brings it to modern audiences.
Triplets Of Belleville, my favorite animated film of all time, is a perfect example. The opening 20 minutes of Wall-E, or even the tear jerking 5 minute montage in the opening of Up (the best part of that film), are all great examples as well. However, it’s not often used, outside of There Will Be Blood (which may be the single best use of this idea), in the realm of live action films.
That said, Danny Boyle is about to throw his hat in the silent ring, and with more than one could have expected.
About a week ago, it was reported that Danny Boyle would not be doing sequels to 28 Weeks Later or Trainspotting as his next film, but instead, 127 Hours, the story of Aron Ralston. Who is Aron Ralston? Well, he’s more of a man than any of us could ever be, as he is a famous mountain climber who, after being trapped by a boulder for nearly five days, had to amputate his own arm to free himself. Balls? F*** yes.
Indiewire recently had a chance to talk to the film maker, who confirmed that Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy is tapped to pen the screenplay, but has not yet started a draft, which will be adapted from Boyle’s treatment. However, that’s not really the news. The biggest chunk of news is that Boyle intends for the first hour to be completely dialogue free. In the actual story, Ralston WAS completely alone, and stuck in a canyon, so one could imagine that there wouldn’t be much talking. The film will rely solely on the acting ability of whatever actor is cast (Ryan Gosling has been rumoured).
Boyle continues and says the film has no green light or budget right now, but after winning an Oscar, that shouldn’t be too hard to attain.
This is beyond good news. The story itself is full of drama, and the idea of having a Castaway type story like this, without the horrible plot device that was the volleyball, is intriguing. I think Boyle is a brilliant film maker, as much as I didn’t like Slumdog, and I think if they get the right actor, this thing could be beyond fantastic. The story is inherently interesting and full of intensity and drama, and throw in the idea of being completely alone, the film could not only be a great piece of cinema, but a true horror film. Imagine the Decent, but featuring only one character, and no monsters.
This actually reminds me a lot of the upcoming Ryan Reynolds indie, Buried, which is a script that I still have to get through. In that film, he plays a man who was buried alive, with only a cell phone, and is allegedly getting a release sometime next year. Both of these films sound fantastic.
But what do YOU think?
Go see something good!
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