Room: One Skylight, Two Great Performances, and Four Walls make one great film.

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2015)

"Room" starts in the middle of a horrifying tale of abduction with little back story and little history. And that works wonder. It places us right in the middle of the claustrophobia of the two main characters, Joy and her son Jack. The first third of the film made me almost as uncomfortable as I was during the whole masterpiece film, "The Act of Killing."
There are so many times when this film could have gone awry, sappy and melodramatic. In fact, the sappiest thing about the film was the music, being far too uplifting and loud for the themes in the movie.
The framing of each shot in the first-third of the movie augments the feeling of being trapped. The shots are as beautiful as they are terrifying.
The acting of the two main characters is spot on, especially the five-year-old boy Jake, played by Jacob Tremblay. Brie Larson plays the complicated role of Joy, the mother, who goes through untold agony. We aren't told what happens in detail; we see it on her face, in her body.
There were so many times this film could have gone for cheap sentimentality; they could have gone for the easy reconciliation and happy ending, and it didn't. Put one in the win column for small, well writing, well directed and well acted cinema that doesn't involve stunts or explosions.
Rating: Pay Full Price
"Room" is excellent. While it didn't play for cheap emotion and the issues it addresses are horrifying, it could have used more detail regarding the aftermath of events for the mother. The son's issues were dealt with well if not completely. The framing of the shots? Fantastic! The music? Terrible.
Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay deserve Oscars nominations.
Peace,
Tex Shelters