Room

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2016)

Of all the films coming out last year, I would definitely have to say that Room was one of my most anticipated releases and one of the films I was most looking forward to. Having now seen the film, I must say that it did not disappoint. I was mentioning in my review for Brooklyn about how we are getting a lot of really good female driven films that have great female performances and great perspectives from a woman's point of view and I would certainly add Room to that list as well. Room, is not based upon a true story, but the events in the film were most likely taken out of the newspaper headlines because we have had a lot of these cases surface and come to light within the past couple of years. The film does an excellent job of conveying what being trapped in a small space would have been like and while the film is quite disturbing at times and leaves you with an unsettled feeling it is also emotionally very powerful and also has moments of great beauty and humanity thrown into the film giving it a wonderful balance of both tragedy, loss and despair as well as hope and love and knowing that with time that everything will turn out okay. The two lead performances from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay are amazing and two of the best performances of this past year, or really any year lately. Larson has proved what a talented actress she is with films like Short Term 12 and now Room will definitely be the film she will receive a much deserved Oscar for. I was really in disbelief though that Jacob Tremblay did not receive an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Jack. Here is a young kid who delivered one of the best child performances I think I have ever seen in a film and he proved himself totally capable of handling and delivering a performance in what is an emotionally really intense film and one that I think even people more than half, or triple his age would find difficulty in doing, but he makes his performance so natural and believable and we believe every second what he is thinking and going through and with his total fascination with the world and the things around him. This was a great oversight for the Academy by not nominating him because it was certainly one of the top performances of last year and worthy of an award. I am so glad that Brie Larson was nominated though and her performance is so great that I know she will be walking away with Oscar gold. Here is a character who goes through the unthinkable and yet while she still struggles during and after her circumstances, we see what a brave and independent woman this is and how for all the years in captivity she put her young son, Jack and his needs in front of her own and always looking after his best was just amazing and completely heart warming to watch. As others have said this film truly captures the deep and personal relationship between a mother and son and the endless love that goes with it. Larson's character is loving and caring for Jack, but we also see how she is strong and even later in the film while dealing with depression and trauma for what she went through we are completely with her every step of the way and again this is such a beautifully natural and realistic performance and one that must have been extremely emotionally draining and challenging to play each and every day, but Larson pulls it off flawlessly and is totally deserving of what is sure to be her first of many Oscars. The film would unfortunately maybe be too difficult for some to watch because of the heavy emotional content and the subject matter of the film, but I would challenge any serious film goers to give the film a chance anyways because it is such a wonderful cinematic experience and one that will surely move you and challenge you in many ways. Often throughout the film as I mentioned earlier, there is also scenes of love, family and maybe even in a sense coming to terms with yourself and the events of your life and these such moments did bring tears to my eyes and deeply moved me. This is a film where we certainly see that there are a lot of bad people in the world who do terrible things to one another, but the film does not let us lose hope because we are also confronted and experience the love between this mother and son and a relationship that does get challenged, but never broken and the strength that family and the right people in your life can have. This is not a film about despair, or the evils of mankind and yet while it does deal with that, this is overall a film about hope and overcoming your past and struggles and finding your peace in life even after a terrible trauma which is further helped by your loved ones. The film is certainly realistic and gritty at times, but all the more natural and real because of it and this is one of the most emotional and best cinematic experiences I have had of last year because we identify with these characters every step of the way and we feel hope and compassion for them and in many ways see that the outside world and things in it are truly beautiful and a wonder to behold and that personal growth and healing can happen to us all no matter what our circumstances.