127 Hours: Gruesome Amputation Scene Shocks Toronto Audience

In 127 Hours, British director Danny Boyle‘s follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire, a mountain climber (James Franco) amputates his own arm to free himself from a fallen boulder. The film’s screening at Toronto had “three faintings and one seizure,” reports The Wrap‘s John H. Foote (via The Guardian). Foote calls the amputation scene “among the most realistic of graphic gore ever put on film, and not for the faint of heart.” Can’t say that I blame the audience for squirming – just reading about the film makes me nauseated.

The Guardian‘s David Cox reviews the new adaptation of Brighton Rock, which has premiered at Toronto. He calls the film “a masterpiece” and singles out Andrea Riseborough‘s “breathtaking performance,” adding, “To say her achievement deserves an Oscar would be somehow to demean it.”

Photos: Riseborough and Dame Helen Mirren at the Brighton Rock premiere in Toronto.(Toronto Life)

Also from Toronto: Rachel Weisz gives a “deeply felt performance” in the film The Whistleblower, in which the Oscar winner plays a real-life Nebraska police officer who uncovers a human trafficking ring. (Los Angeles Times)

Deadline.com‘s Pete Hammond says British actor Andrew Garfield “steals The Social Network” and is a lock for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for the David Fincher-directed film. Garfield is best-known as the new Spider-Man, and he also appears in Never Let Me Go, which hits theaters in select cities today.