Room at the top

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2016)

Here's a small budget movie that will top the lists of 10 Best of the year. Award worthy performances make it work. While Bri Larson is excellent and billed as the lead, Jacob Tremblay carries the movie. It is really his story. He is on screen in nearly every scene and does all the voice overs. It is the discovery of the world through his eyes that raise the movie above harsh drama.
The writer gets the credit for the good and perhaps the blame for some things that were so heavy handed red flags nearly popped off the screen. Perhaps it was better developed in the book but the William H. Macy character and issue felt rushed and distracting. The Dr. handing out sleeping pills when sleeping wasn't an issue was a jolting red flag. The news reporter interview was so far in bad taste to be realistic. Both mom and attorney sat by to set up another unlikely scene. The male characters were all written as insensitive clods. That includes the male cop. Even the male dog while kind sure wasn't much to look at.
Ignore the flaws and admire the performances. The movie may be hard for some to take as it deals with abuse issues and aftermath. It is in limited release so if you can't see it in the dark, it will be almost as effective on a home platform. See it somewhere as it one of the best movies of the year.