Larson Owns Room!

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2016)

Room (2015): Dir: Lenny Abrahamson / Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus: A room can seem gigantic to a boy whose only glimpse of the outside world are that of a television. He is Jack and this room is his world along with his mother Joy. She raises him within that room heightening his imagination with various activities until bedtime in a closet. Nights are chilling because that is when Old Nick returns. He keeps them locked in this room and abuses Joy who protects Jack. When all seems lost Joy schemes a plan for Jack's freedom and the result is a spectacular yet intimidating image of adapting to a bigger universe. Director Lenny Abrahamson does an intriguing and detailed job at showcasing this outside freedom from both perspectives and how both Jack and Joy adapt differently. Brie Larson has become one of the most dependable talents with a resume of diverse roles. This is Larson at her best as she struggles to raise her son within confinement and then prepare him for an escape into an unseen world. Sean Bridgers plays Old Nick whose footage is brief but important as his sadistic choices become clear. Joan Allen plays Joy's mother who eventually introduces Jack to his very first hair cut. Tom McCamus plays her second husband, Leo who accepts Jack when his grandfather cannot muster up the ability to look at him. This is a powerful and emotionally charged film about motherhood at its most extreme. It demonstrates what a mother will go through to allow her son a promising future and an escape from the enclosed space that was room. Score: 10 / 10