Terrific Thriller with Great Performances

Rating: Null/10 (23 January 2016)

Room (2015)
**** (out of 4)
A mother (Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) live in a small room where the mom eventually decides to try and get out of the room so that her son can have a better life.
I'm really not going to say much more about the plot because it's really best that you go into the film just knowing the simplest detail and that's the fact that the mom and son are living inside a small room. I must admit that I went into this movie with high hopes and they were not only met but easily surpassed. Director Lenny Abrahamson once again shows that you don't need a one hundred million dollar budget in order to make a great film. No, ROOM shows what great directing, great acting and a great story can do.
What really amazed me about the film is the way Abrahamson was able to make you feel trapped by the surroundings. The first portion of the movie all takes place inside this small room and this room is really a character of its own. What makes the film so special is the fact that you get accustom to this small room and you can feel for both of the characters and understand what they're going through. This first portion also works as a terrific mystery because you don't know why they're in this room and slowly the mystery is revealed.
The film turns into a remarkable character study during the second act. Again, I'm not going to spoil any of the twists so lets just say that the mother, the son and others are so torn from what happened that it's remarkable watching the actors bring these characters to life. The various troubles that follow is something hard to watch at times but certainly impossible to forget.
Brie Larson turns in a terrific performance and only after viewing the film will you see and understand how many different emotions she has to play. She easily becomes this character and there's not a single frame where you feel that you're watching an actress work. No, instead you really do feel as if you're seeing a real character going through these real hardships. Tremblay turns in one of the greatest child performances I've ever seen and especially when you look at how challenging the role and film are. Both Larson and Tremblay have a terrific chemistry that really comes across wonderfully on the screen. William H. Macy, Joan Allen, Matt Gordon and Sean Bridgers are all terrific as well.
ROOM deals with a very troubling subject matter and the film really doesn't pull any punches. The subject matter turns more ugly with each new twist but in the end you're seeing one of the best character developments in recent years as well as some of the greatest acting that you're going to see. It's really remarkable what the director managed to pull off but ROOM is certainly a great gem.