Emotion Carries This Drama

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2016)

I have seen some great dramas and this one rates good on my scale. I imagine the book is much better than the film because the story picks up in this one at the end of 7 years of being stuck living in one room. While references are made in slight bits about how the ordeal for Ma and Jack started, there is very little done to explain how this could have happened for so long. Granted, that is not important to the dramatic part of this film, but it does make the film a leap that might explain why -Old Nick when he does lose Jack just takes off. I really thought he might do something more desperate like go back and harm Ma before the police free her from the room.
When I looked at this, the hook is the relationship between Ma and her son Jack. Brie Larson as Ma & Jacob Tremblay (Jack) are outstanding in their roles. Their relationship is key to this drama working. Ma's entire world is being kidnapped when she was 17, raped by old Nick (Sean Bridgers), having a son and then wrapping her entire life on bringing up her son in one room with Old Nick being the jailer and provider for them both. It is an out of whack world which Jack can only see through a skylight for 7 years.
Ma totally protects Jack from Old Nick like a mother in the wild protects their young. She teaches him to read, and they do get exposure to the outside world via a television set. Finally, Ma uses her son to finally escape from the room. Then this film goes into the raw emotions and reactions of shock as she and Jack get exposed to the outside world.
Many times, Jack is narrating the story as it goes along. Jacob Tremblay's performance is outstanding in all aspects here. Brie Larson is very good but it is the child's view which really carries this film to make the viewer care. It is the emotion which made me interested in the film. It is not a perfect film, but it does pull the viewer in.