A Sparse Tale Powered By Two Strong Leads

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2016)

After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery.
The difference between this film and a B-grade thriller or revenge film is in the level of performance achieved by the two leads, Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. They are the beginning middle and end of everything good about this film. (And luckily, they are strong enough to cancel out William H. Macy, who is horribly miscast in this movie.)
There is no doubt that Brie Larson will win the Oscar for Best Actress, and no doubt that she deserves it. After her picking up a Golden Globe and a SAG Award, it would be very strange to applaud anyone else. She is strong, weak, sad, elated, protective and terrified. This is just about the fullest range of emotions that a person can have, especially in under two hours on screen.
Many have noted that Jacob Tremblay is equally good. Some say he is even better than Larson (and that is quite possible). Yet he did not get a nomination. This is definitely unfortunate. Whether he is on par with Leonardo DiCaprio's strength this year is hard to say, but it seems that Tremblay easily was more intense, more memorable than Matt Damon. With all due respect to Matt Damon.
Not having read the book, I can make no commented on the adapted screenplay. I think the script we end up with is excellent, but if the award is for the adaptation, that might be more difficult to call.
This leaves Best Director and Best Picture. I find it very unlikely that Lenny Abrahamson will win. He definitely deserves to be in this category, and he has risen relatively quickly. 2014's "Frank" was a quirky little film that deserved more attention, and "Room" is going to launch him into the A-list. His next film is rumored to be a Civil War story, and although that has been done to death (what hasn't?), many eyes will now be on it.
And Best Picture? That would be quite the upset. Some people have really gotten behind the film. Richard Roeper, for example, thinks "Room" is one of the best films of the decade. He would love to see "Room" go home with the little golden man. But it would be an uphill fight. Most likely it will end up taking third or fourth place (and we are not privy to the votes).