Emotional, but never sappy

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2016)

Room is based on, among other incidents, the crimes of Josef Fritzl, but it's not a horror film: it's a drama about people who are habituated to imprisonment. From the opening moments of Room, we are guided by five year-old Jack(Jacob Tremblay), as he tells us what his world is: Plant, Sink, Ma and TV. Everything else is Outer Space, where Old Nick(Sean Bridgers), owner of Room, gets them Sunday treats.
Ma(Brie Larson) is the only one who takes care of Jack, but she's no saint: she gets upset, she gets frustrated, she lashes out, and so does Jack. But none of the drama is overblown, instead staying firmly in reality: Larson and Tremblay give naturalistic performances, while Abrahamson's direction shows us Jack's perspective, without being showy or distracting. Instead his camera simply hovers between the characters, and we feel we are observing life from Jack's mind. For an Irish-Canadian-British production, it seems to take more cues from the humanism of a Dardennes Brothers film than a Hollywood drama.
The story develops unexpectedly, even if you think you know where it's going, seemingly unfolding without any plot contrivance. Emma Donoghue's screenplay has a rare understanding for how children speak, with cries of "liar, liar, pants on fire", but never talks down to her audience. Casual references are made to Room, and Ma and Jack's past, so that it feels like they exist beyond just what we're seeing.
You will also cry. It's unavoidable. Jack lives in the young world of exaggerated emotions, and we join him. There are big moments when he discovers the world, emphasised by slow motion and an emotional score; but there are quieter moments, such as when Jack meets a dog for the first time. While only brief, they are handled honestly and provoke a reaction from the audience without demanding.
It's not a perfect film, as a couple of interactions feel forced and the second act could be trimmed down. But these are just quibbles: Room is a drama that manages to tell a moving story without resorting to sappiness or melodrama. You could argue that by the time the credits roll, many of the plot threads are left unresolved. But that would be missing the point: Abrahamson is telling the story of Jack and his Room, not Ma, or Old Nick or anyone else: and for him everything if finished.