It's a pretty good movie

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2016)

Room is a pretty good movie. It is based on a novel by Emma Donoghue who also penned the film script. It is the story of a woman who was locked up and sexually abused for 7 years inside a 10 ft. by 10 ft. shed.
It is also the story of her 5-year-old son who was born and raised inside the 'room' with no knowledge of the outside world. He assumes that the small television set they watch every day is just 'make believe'.
The story is sometimes difficult to watch as we see mother and son play out their daily lives in this room, where the male perpetrator appears at night to have his way with mom while little Jack sleeps in the closet. They are both totally under the control of this evil, sexual pervert and there seems no hope for them.
I confess that I was worried that the entire movie would take place in the 'room', as after about 45 minutes I was starting to become tired of watching such unspeakable misery. Fortunately, my concerns were unfounded. Jack manages to escape by pretending he is dead. The cops find Jack and glean enough information from him to work out where the shed is located. The rest, as they say, is history.
The final part of the film is devoted to the trials and traumas of Jack and his mom adapting to the real world at the family home of his grandparents.The film handles this sensitively and realistically, although I would certainly take issue with the shocking and invasive questioning by a TV reporter, even though Mom was being paid for the interview. Even in today's sensationalist America, where just about anything goes, an interview like this would never be allowed to happen to such a distressed and traumatised woman – money or no money.
I don't know why, but I could tell that the film was adapted from a book. Some of the events – such as Jack rolling himself up in a carpet probably works well in a book but less well on screen. It didn't ring true. Maybe I'm nit-picking, as generally speaking, the film works well and holds your attention throughout.
Jacob Tremblay, as Jack, acts out of his skin and Brie Larson, as the mother, is also excellent and does everything that could be expected of her in the acting department. But for this reviewer, she wasn't the best actress amongst those nominated this year for an Oscar, even though she won. But there againI'm probably biased.