chains

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2016)

The kidnapping, incarceration and rape of children is incredibly difficult to represent authentically on screen. 'Michael' shows how damning the effect can be when genre demands are prioritized over authentic portrayals. The first half of Room offers up a subtly plausible account of how a young woman copes with appeasing her captor in order to avert his gaze from her son. The performances of Brie Larson and an outstanding Jacob Tremblay are crucial here. Jack craves affection but also explores revolt, and the parent-child bond is utterly convincing. Sean Bridgers as the captor Old Nick takes a banality of evil approach: this could be your cousin, your neighbour, your boss. When Jack escapes and Old Nick makes the decision to abandon him in the street, the way he throws the boy down completely conveys the psychopathic nature of the man. The second half of the film, about Ma's difficulty in re-adjusting to society, works less well. Her father is wheeled in then wheeled off in order to make a point about the difficulty of accepting his grandchild. The A-list casting here did not help - a more anonymous face in this role would have given it more of an everyday dark fear appeal. The ending is low-key, but is in its own small way triumphant, a full stop placed right where it was needed. These two characters will go on. They will heal. Thoughtful, mature film-making that stays with you after the curtain closes.