The movie that almost killed Danny Boyle: “I’m not going to see my kids again”
Danny Boyle’s filmography is brimming with a number of works that any director would be champing at the bit to have under their belt. From the groundbreaking Trainspotting and lauded Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle has shown himself to be an innovative and imaginative filmmaker, lending his talents to the scripts of equally applauded writers like Alex Garland for films The Beach, 28 Days Later and Sunshine.
One of Boyle’s most clear skills is his ability to capture real human experience—whether that be through the lens of destitution and desperation, drug abuse, or determination, Boyle’s movies have a distinctly character-driven approach. Despite finding himself bouncing through genres like sci-fi and horror, Boyle manages to keep his worlds grounded and feeling real, even when dealing with the fantastical or farcical.
A visceral story of survival that is one of Boyle’s more well-known works is the James Franco-led 127 Hours, which tells the real-life story of mountaineer Aron Ralston, who becomes trapped between a rock wall and a fallen boulder, ensnaring his arm resulting in a lonely, hallucination filled experience over six days that required Ralston to ration food and water, attempt to survive cold nights and ultimately, amputate his own arm in order to free himself and survive.
Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place, which was published in 2004, the film telegraphs one of the most harrowing modern stories of survival and the lengths we will go to in order to make it back to the ones we love, and despite the majority of the film taking place in one location, Boyle describes it as an “action movie”. The director spent four years negotiating with Ralston to put the story to film, wanting the production to be something more intimate than his previous work, multi-Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, which saw Boyle receive ‘Best Director’ among the film’s seven other accolades, which included the coveted ‘Best Picture’ in 2008.
When attempting to make a film to tell the true terror of facing one’s own mortality, Boyle says that he drew on his own real-life experience while making the Leonardo DiCaprio fronted The Beach in 2000. While in Thailand for the film’s production, Boyle recounts that in a moment when the tides suddenly turned, while filming a scene over a reef.
“All of the camera equipment went overboard, and we were in the water,” says Boyle, describing how himself, the crew and the film’s star were all caught in “eight foot waves”.
The crew for The Beach were saved when given some advice by a nearby diver who told them to swim out to sea, rather than to shore, but Boyle still remembers the fear that the incident left him with. “All I remember thinking was: ‘Fucking hell! I’m not going to see my kids again,” is it any wonder then that the climatic moments of 127 Hours sees James Franco’s portrayal of Aron Ralston driven to free himself by visions of his future son, and he desperation Ralston feels to see him grow up, reflecting Boyle’s own thoughts in his moment of near-death.
