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Room review
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Room

Maternal love is the tie that binds throughout Room, a harrowing but rewarding glimpse into the lives of a young woman and her son held in captivity. Well, that’s where Room begins its journey, and it continues on into their struggle to weave themselves into the outside world. Much of the story examines the ugliest things we are capable of doing to each other, the explosive damage that can turn inward, and our struggles to heal those scars, as much as we can.

 

If that sounds emotionally draining, much of it is. How could this story not be? Told through the eyes of a five-year-old boy born into captivity, the product of the repeated rape and sexual abuse of his twenty-four-year old mother, he knows nothing but Room. And all of the objects within it are the only things that feel real to him, everything on outside is the stuff of make believe and legends. What we think of a common place, he thinks of as the stuff of fairy tales.

 

Yet, even in these darkest moments, there are real moments of human empathy and connection. Joan Allen’s presence as the grandmother struggling to reconnect with her daughter, and meeting a grandson she just learned existed could be exhibit A. It’s great to see Allen on the big screen again, and her underplayed acting style feels so lived in and real. A scene where she speaks with her grandson while cutting his hair, explaining that in times of crisis they all lean on each other to share strength and support, practically glows with familial love and empathetic support.

 

Perhaps in another year, or if Rooney Mara and Alicia Vikander had not been nominated in the wrong categories for their movies, Allen would have been a well-deserved Supporting Actress nominee. She is just that good, and it’s been a long time since she’s had a role this juicy. She could have easily played it up for hammy actorly relish, but she digs deep into understanding who this woman is.

 

The same could be said about our two lead actors. Brie Larson has been so good in so many things for so long that her newly placed prominence feels like everyone else is just catching up. I first encountered her in The United States of Tara, where she held her own against Toni Collette, no easy feat that trick, and Viola Davis, ditto. Larson’s work here is revelatory, showing a new expansion of a range that was already formidable based on her performances in Short Term 12 and Tara.

 

The earliest scenes find Larson trying to normalize their life, making a whole world in a tiny garden shed. Once on the outside, she clings to dreams and memories of a home life that has changed dramatically since she last saw it. Her character’s descent into anger, hostility, trauma, and suicidal depression is slowly emerging. Scenes of her abuse by Old Nick are harrowing, but so is a sit-down interview with a primetime news reporter. To think that she’s capable of such depths of emotion and feeling at only twenty-six is quite pleasing, and it’s going to be a treat to watch her career and talent mature from here. If I had an Oscar ballot, I’d cast my vote for her.

 

And as good as Larson and Allen are, Jacob Tremblay is just as good as Jack, the young child whose eyes we experience this story through. He is so convincing and realistic in this story, I just couldn’t help wondering how they conjured this performance out of him. Child actors are frequently kept guarded from the more disturbing or traumatic aspects of the films they star in, but that seems unavoidable with this material. His petulance feels like a normal five-year-old, and his insular traumatized reactions to the outside world feel all too real. His eventual awakening to the possibilities of the outside world is so slowly and fluidly done, I just couldn’t believe how fantastic this child was. No cutesy precocious child-actor stunts here, his work recalls the fantastic work of Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

 

Undeniably tough material, but Room is one of the best pieces of movie-making from 2015. That Larson is dominating year end polls for Best Actress is no surprise, and I wouldn’t be shocked if we look back at her performance again in the decade wrap-up. Or if Tremblay goes on to become an adult star, the spark of greatness is already there in this performance. Room is hard stuff, but the rewards are many and splendid. 

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Added by JxSxPx
8 years ago on 18 January 2016 08:44

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