First Look: James Franco As Aron Ralston In Danny Boyle's '127 Hours'

Briefly: Here's your first look at James Franco as climber Aron Ralston in Danny Boyle's upcoming film 127 Hours. The image was scanned from the latest issue of EW and sent to The Playlist; it shows Franco in mid-climb, a bit grimy from his efforts. There's also a small scan of Boyle and Franco together.

Along with the images are a couple of provocative quotes. Franco says he originally pictured the film as "an action movie where the hero can't move," while Boyle emphasizes the tension inherent in the script. "This movie is going to be obsessive, and it will be for obsessives...You will want him to cut off his arm off by the end." Hit the jump for larger images.

Here's the official synopsis for the film, in which Franco will have the screen all to himself for much of the time, and for which Boyle employed an unusual dual-cinematographer setup:

127 HOURS is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers (Clemence Poesy), family, and the two hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet? A visceral thrilling story that will take an audience on a never before experienced journey and prove what we can do when we choose life.

james-franco-127hoursjames-franco-127hours-2