Film: Room

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for language?
RUNTIME: 1 hours and 58 minutes

STARRING: Brie Larson (Trainwreck, United States of Tara )

Jacob Tremblay (The Smurfs 2); Joan Allen (Pleasantville)

DIRECTOR: Lenny Abrahamson (Frank)

WRITER: Emma Donoghue (Room the novel)

PLOT: A five-year-old boy (and his mother) escapes from an enclosed room and experiences the outside world for the first time.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I haven’t read the book but my wife really liked it. I’m expecting Oscar buzz for this film, so I wanted to see it for myself.  

STORY STUFF: What a compelling story. You can’t help but feel for the protagonists and what they go through. I am happy that Donoghue adapted her own novel. My wife said the film was a great representation of the book. She does note that it is even more interesting because it is written from the boy’s point of view. The film gives the boy some narration but book explores things even further.

ACTING STUFF: Wow! Tremblay is amazing as the five-year-old Jack. More than just a great range of emotions, his sense of wonder when he experiences the world for the first time is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Larson is also compelling as the struggling mom who just wants her son to have a normal life. I hope both actors get Oscar nominations. They are richly deserved.

ARTISTIC STUFF: Some great cinematography from the boy’s perspective. The room itself is claustrophobic but also strangely cozy in a very disturbing way. I did not like the house layout. I understood the feeling of being trapped with the bars and low bedroom ceiling but I just thought it looked ugly. Not that it took away from the film that much.

VERDICT: SSSS (these are motion picture cameras, in Firefox they appear as ‘S’s. I may need to rethink the graphic.)

SEE IT IF: you are unafraid to shed a tear in a theatre or if you want to see potential Oscar contenders.
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Spotlight, The Big Short