Room

Rating: 8/10 (20 February 2016)

Screenwriter Emma Donoghue (adapting her own novel) designed an intriguing structure which makes Room difficult to categorize. Is it a thriller, a domestic drama or a character study filtered through an unusual perspective? Don't worry; it's a rhetoric question, and I prefer not to get into too many details, because the less the spectator knows, the better the story will work. So, I will just say that Room is a provocative and very interesting movie with an innovative premise, amazing performances and solid direction. The story is generally developed through the eyes of the kid Jack, something which offers an incomplete vision of the facts; but thanks to the screenplay and Brie Larson's extraordinary performance, we can quickly fill in the holes in order to realize the scale of the situation and the way in which the main characters assimilated it. But that's just the beginning. It can be said that the "conventional" ending of the film happens during its half, creating a brusque and significant thematic and narrative transformation which brings new challenges to the screenplay and the performances. Fortunately, both elements work, and they take us to an ending which isn't necessarily happy, but definitely satisfactory. As I previously said, Larson makes a magnificent work in her role (in my humble opinion, she should have already won an Oscar for her performance in Short Term 12), while the kid Jacob Tremblay also brings an excellent performance, absolutely natural and convincing from the beginning to the end. On the negative side of Room, it was a bit difficult for me to adapt to the second half after the suspense of the beginning; but that's when the previously mentioned character study comes into scene, and once I comprehended that strategy, I recovered my interest. Even though I liked Room pretty much, I don't have particular wishes to watch it again; however, it deserves a recommendation because of its originality and unusual execution. And, personally, it confirmed me the damage the trailers make to the films they pretend to sell. If you are interested in watching Room, don't watch any of its trailers.