One of the Best of the Year

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2015)

I want to start off by saying I recommend you do not watch the trailer for this film. If you do watch the trailer that's fine, but if you wish to avoid knowing what the "second half" of this film is like then you should avoid it.
That being said, in order to avoid commenting on the second half I am referring to, I'll try to talk about issues explored in the film rather than plot content.
The basic premise is that a woman and her son live in a shed, which they refer to as simply "Room," years after the woman's abduction by an older man. Their names are Joy and Jack, and they are very codependent.
What I did not expect from this film is that it deals with the theme of perception of reality, and how much the environment has an impact on this perception. Jack has only lived in Room his whole life and knows nothing outside of this life. To maintain his innocence, Joy has had to tell stories to build a certain perspective on reality for her son. One of the best scenes of the film is when Joy decides it is better for Jack to know the truth about the world and reality, and Jack's reaction is heartbreaking and played brilliantly by Jacob Tremblay.
I want to say more, but I feel like I would give too much away if I did. In a nutshell, this film deals with issues I never would have imagined to be tackled in a film with this premise. I recommend you see this film unless you find the premise disturbing, though the film is never violent or graphic.
3.5/4.0