An Emotionally Strong Movie I Can Never, Ever Forget.

Rating: 10/10 (14 January 2016)

Those that have not yet seen Room have not seen it because it is an independent film. Indies are usually hard to come by and are often expensive. Having seen that this was one of the highest rated films of 2015, I felt obliged to give it a watch. I was totally overwhelmed by how much of a psychological impact it had on me. Sometimes, psychological impacts are bad. Room is not one of them.
Room focuses on two characters: Ma/Joy (Brie Larson) and her son Jack (Jacob Tremblay). Very, very rarely are the two main characters of a film as good as Larson and Tremblay. One of the few movies where the main girl and the main guy are this good is Silence of the Lambs. Room is at that level.
After receiving her Golden Globe, Brie Larson is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress--a role which she WILL win for. Larson is one of those familiar faces seen in the backdrop of movies such as Trainwreck, but Room finally exposes her acting ability and lets her shine as she deserves.
The one that really steals the show is young Jacob Tremblay. He is a cute little Canadian kid who gives the performance of a lifetime. I was actually rooting for the kid to win or at least be nominated for an Oscar. Being nominated for an Oscar is a victory in itself. Say Tremblay did win, imagine how angry other people would be if a prepubescent beat them. When its good, its good. Tatum O'Neal was 10 when she won. Justin Henry was Tremblay's age when he was nominated for Kramer vs Kramer.
Room is a very depressing movie full of redemption that will make you cry sadness one minute then tears of joy the next. When Brie Larson's character was in her late teens, she helps a man find his dog. Unbeknownst to her, she falls prey to a kidnapper and is placed in a 10x10 foot shed and kept there for almost 10 years. She has tried multiple times to escape, but is never successful. She is raped and eventually gives birth to a baby boy called Jack. Jack has never been outside of the confinement and thinks that is all there is in the world. Joy loves her son and shields him from the horrors of the reality. Jack is a happy- go-lucky imaginative young man.
A few days after Jack turns 5, Joy tells him the realities and practices an escape plan. When Jack ventures out, he is completely overwhelmed. When they both get out, the adjustments to life outside seem almost impossible. Jack has never seen outside the Room and Joy's reconciliation with her family after years in captivity seems almost impossible.
Room is based on a book based on a true story of a Austrian father who kept his daughter locked in a basement dungeon for over 20 years. But the movie touches base with so much more. The very idea of kidnapping is depressing. But it also shows the importance of family. Joy and Jack love each other more than anything, and we feel it. Joan Allen and William H Macy play her parents, and we feel when they reunite. But perhaps the most important thing Room shows is how precious life is and how much there is in the world. Jack was a happy boy, living in a tiny space. His journey outside is the biggest treat of his life. And of course, the acting by all is superb.
Room really hits home. It is one of the very best, emotionally-charged movies I have ever beard witness to. One of the 100 best movies of my life.
4/4