The BFI London Film Festival came to a close last night with Danny Boyle's latest, 127 Hours, the ouch-inducing tale of climber Aron Ralston and his brush with death after being trapped under a boulder in the desert during a weekend hike.
The film stars James Franco, and sticks him in a single location for most of its running time, with his arm under a huge rock. It's a testament to him that the film is as gripping as it is, and to Boyle's directing style. And that's true even if you know exactly how he gets away.
Unsurprisingly, such a buzzed about film drew a capacity crowd to the Festival's closing gala, including such luminaries as Rosamund Pike (who was sitting directly in front of Empire, and who is quite tall), as well as Boyle, Franco, the real Ralston, writer Simon Beaufoy and composer AR Rahman.
127 Hours, for the rest of the country, is out on January 7. Gird your loins now - and if you go out climbing, tell someone where you're going!