Short Shelf Life Following Awards Season

Rating: 7/10 (14 October 2015)

'Room' is the harrowing story of isolationism, and then, later on, immersion. We're first introduced to our two main characters, twenty-something Ma (actress Brie Larson) and four year-old Jack (up-and-coming Jacob Tremblay), inside a garden shed. We are, of course, unaware that this is a garden shed, but the size is what's immediately noticeable. Small, dark, and dank, with a single skylight. Jack, the product of Ma's kidnapping despite her insistence of his immaculate conception, is oblivious to the space of the room, or lack thereof, and equally of the world outside it. Ma, we're later told, has been living in the confines for seven years. It's seven too many, and when she decides quite suddenly that some attempt must be made to free one or both of them, plans are quickly set in motion at her behest and against Jack's wishes.
I'm hesitant to mention their escape at all, but the always inexcusable trailer not only alludes to the escape but presents it as a first- act occurrence, mostly using the opportunity to list the other notable actors of the production. It's an unfortunate introduction to the story, as the audience does benefit from the time spent in the shed, however fully expecting the scenery to change in a moment. We come to understand their lifestyle: stretching in the morning, TV, eating canned slop, TV, running from one end of the shed to the other, TV. They have each other, and TV. It's been the source of Jack's entertainment, and no doubt his education, for much of his life. So when Ma tries to explain that TV holds some truth, that other people exist, and so too does a world outside of Room, it's hard for Jack, now 5, to grasp. "How does it all fit?!" he asks out of a serious incredulity (a single line delivered in a way that certifies Tremblay is one to watch).
Nevertheless, he does grasp it, or he pretends to. He audibly bounces back and forth between acceptance and some acting form of denial, but his trust in Ma ultimately outweighs his fear of something larger, and then, halfway through the film, the outside is revealed to him. It's an abrupt and belated transition and his daring escape doesn't seem at all plausible but paints our everyday surroundings so empyrean that you more than forgive it. Triumph of the realization is replaced with a terror. Talking to the strange people he's only just recently come to see as real instead of "magic" is too much, too soon.
A female officer warms to Jack, and his bravery leads to Ma's rescue. The two are reunited with the family he's never known, but a reluctance to engage with anyone besides his Ma is apparent. By this time, the film feels unbalanced. Its pacing is jarred, and the idea is that it's supposed to, but it feels less like a new, eye- opening experience and the slow understanding that comes with it, and more like a train wreck in slow motion. The second half offers little to the viewer. The meat of the story is left behind, and while it wasn't exactly Kobe beef, what we're left with is little more than the canned slop our duo had been subjected to in the beginning. Joan Allen does her best with what little she's given, William H. Macy isn't much more than a snapshot and a stepping stone to Ma's character development, Tom McCamus surprises, and Sean Bridgers eerie acting as the deluded kidnapper is oddly missed after his exit, which is without any real resolution.
This proves to be a compelling story, and is at times emotionally gripping, but is ultimately ill-fated for a film adaptation. Best suited as prose, or as a journalistic publication on which the narrative is based, it falters in being brought to screen. Neither first-time feature screenwriter Emma Donoghue nor Lenny Abrahamson are at fault, as both do greatly with what is to be offered, and the casting, particularly the ever-impressive Larson, is inspired. Still, in leaving the theater, something is left to be desired.
"Room" will prove to be a nice addition to the résumé of any involved, but with little shelf life beyond the awards season.
B-
Andrew Paul, occuris.com