Pretty good, actually.

Rating: 7/10 (1 February 2016)

Rounding out the Best Picture nominees that I hadn't already seen (I'll be getting to the rest, don't you worry), is Room. This one is about, according to IMDb:
After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery."
A strange one, based on a book that I haven't read. So, I won't be making any comparisons to the book in this review. Plus, an adaptation should be able to stand alone, and not require extra reading to be a complete experience. Moving on.
Ultimately Room is a success, it's got some pretty great performances and direction, and the movie is put together really well. Brie Larson does a really great job, and you are pulled into her world and really feel her frustrations. Jacob Tremblay is massively annoying, but I think that falls directly in line with his character. While Jack and Ma are stuck in Room, you feel the tension that the small space creates in very believable ways. Still though, he's really irritating.
One of the biggest standouts of this movie is the editing. Especially once Jack escapes from the titular Room. You see the world from his perspective, and the way the scenes are shot and edited together fill you with a very real feeling of being overwhelmed, and experiencing an entire world that you've never seen. It's nice to see filmmakers who know how to SHOW and not tell.
This certainly won't be making any of my "favourite movies ever" lists, but it really does work to communicate an effective story. It's not my pick for Best Picture either, but I'm not going to pretend that it's unwatchable.
This one is up for Best Picture, Best Lead Actress (Brie Larson), Best Directing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. There's a good chance for adapted screenplay or maybe Lead Actress, but those are the strongest impressions for me.
The main characters are Ma and Jack, so you do have a solid female character driving the movie. She's pretty dynamic and interesting too, the things that she is willing to do (or more specifically, have Jack do) in order to escape are pretty intense and staggering. That said, like Brookyln, this movie is lacking in the department of characters who are not cisgendered, heterosexual, white people. (With that total sitting at zero, once again).