127 hours

2010 was the year in which James Franco started getting taken even more seriously by Hollywood. So much so that he was picked to co-host the 2011 Oscar presentations.

In indies, he'd turned in a fine supporting performance as the gay lover of Harvey Milk (2008), then gaining more notice in 2010 in the lead role (and another gay character) for Howl, the docudrama focused on Allen Ginsberg's poetry. His blockbuster experience has been above-average, in a supporting role for the Spider-Man franchise, and below-par (co-star of Tristan + Isolde). He's not been averse recently to appearing in commercial comedy (starring in Pineapple Express, bit-parting in Date Night) and drama (In the Valley of Elah, Eat Pray Love), and being a member of a TV ensemble (General Hospital 2009-10).

As he's also continued to create a big handful of short films with friends (including a Teddy award-winner at Berlin), as well as direct, star in and co-write five features (Fool's Gold, The Ape, Good Time Max, the 2010 SNL documentary Saturday Night, and the 2011 Bret Harte biodrama The Broken Tower), it can safely be assumed that multi-talented Franco is a workaholic. A fan might worry that he over-works, over-exposes himself.

In Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, Franco is carrying a whole movie, using his personality and talent to represent Aron Ralston, an over-confident mountaineer who wrote a book about his true-life dramatic dilemma. Trapped beneath a canyon boulder for five days in April 2003, his only hope of survival lay in cutting off his own right arm below the elbow.

His spellbinding performance earned Franco a slew of award nominations; it will be interesting to see how many he can win in a year when major competition includes Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network).

His winning chances would be nil without the remarkable framework created by co-writer and director Danny Boyle. He and Simon Beaufoy (his Slumdog Millionaire co-writer) opened out the scenario brilliantly, soaring above the confines of a fixed setting in which one man is trapped deep in a narrow ravine. Inevitable flurries of cuts show the man's physical and mental agony, his many practical ploys to ease and resolve his situation, and the raw beauty of the stark canyon landscapes. Cuts and fades also lead to scenes from the man's past family life, friendships and hopes, adapted from Ralston's own memories of the thoughts that swirled through his mind during five days trapped in Death's door.

There are moments, however, when an audience may feel that Boyle has collated every trick of his trade, almost exhausting its repertoire of camera angles, screen effects and contrasts. The musical soundtrack is similarly diverse, a bundle of classic sounds (such as a jazz version of a Piaf song) and original works from A.R.Rahman, the Oscar-winning composer on Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.

It's a good film, though not as gripping and heart-wrenching as another mountaineering docudrama, Touching the Void. It's likely to be more memorable as a worthy vehicle for James Franco.