Room

Rating: 8/10 (28 January 2016)

Based on the book by Emma Donoghue, from what I heard about this film I thought it may have a similar vibe to Oldboy (without the violence), I knew a little about the concept, and it became part of Awards Season, it turned out to be even better than anything I could have expected, from Oscar nominated director Lenny Abrahamson (Frank). Basically twenty-four- year-old Joy "Ma" Newsome (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) live in a squalid shed they call "Room", sharing a bed, toilet, bathtub, television and a rudimentary kitchen, the only window is a skylight. A man called Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), Jack's father, abducted Joy seven years ago and has held her and Jack captive ever since, he routinely rapes her while Jack sleeps in the wardrobe, Joy is overcome sometimes with depression and suffers malnutrition, but tries to stay optimistic for her son. Having been in Room since he was born, Jack has been allowed by Joy to believe that everything he sees on television, from the rest of the world, is make believe, and that only Room and its contents are "real". This changes however when Old Nick tells Joy he has lost his job and threatens he may not be able to afford future supplies, so Joy decides to finally tell Jack the truth, there really is an outside world, everything on television is real, he reacts dramatically with disbelief and a lack of understanding. To stand a chance of getting out of Room, Joy trains Jack to fake a fever, hoping Old Nick will have no choice but to take him to hospital, but instead he says he return and bring antibiotics. Joy has Jack play dead so that she can wrap him in a carpet, in the hope that Old Nick will remove him from Room, he falls for this trick and places a wrapped up Jack in the back of his pickup truck, driving through a residential area, Jack is stunned by exposure to the outside world, but jumps from the truck and attracts the attention of a passer-by. Old Nick tries to take Jack back, but gets away before he can be questioned or caught, the police question a startled Jack about what has happened to him, he slowly explains about where he and his mother are being held, they soon identify the location of the shed and Joy is also rescued, they are both taken to a hospital. In the hospital Joy is reunited with her parents, father Robert (William H. Macy) and mother Nancy (Joan Allen), who she learns have divorced, Nancy is now married to new husband Leo (Tom McCamus), Jack is still overwhelmed by all the new things and people approaching him. Joy and Jack return to her childhood home where Nancy and Leo live, Robert cannot accept Jack and leaves, Jack initially struggles to adapt to life in the larger world outside of Room, speaking only to his mother about his feelings, even expressing a desire to return to Room. Joy struggles with anger and depression about the seven years taken from her and her son, she argues with her mother, and during a television interview about what happened reacts angrily, she finally has a breakdown and attempts suicide, but survives and is taken to hospital. With his mother recovering, Jack slowly shows signs of adapting and settling into his new life, bonding with his grandmother, Leo and his dog, playing with toys he has been given, and he meets and plays with a boy his age, he also finally allows his grandmother to cut his long hair, his "strong", so he can send it to his mother in hospital. Joy returns home and thanks Jack for saving his life again, he asks her if he can see Room again one last time, she agrees to his request and they visit room, escorted by a police officer, Jack feels that with the door open and light coming in that is has shrunk, Joy assures him it is the same place, Jack and Joy says his final goodbyes to Room, and they leave to continue life in the bigger world. Also starring Cas Anvar as Dr. Mittal, Matt Gordon as Doug, Amanda Brugel as Officer Parker and Joe Pingue as Officer Grabowski. Larson gives a compelling and career-minting performance as the emotionally drained mother who has had life stolen by a terrible situation and longs to escape, but this film almost completely belongs to newcomer Tremblay, who (with his long hair could be mistaken for a girl for a long while) is exceptional as the youngster whose whole life revolves around the small space he lives in until being gobsmacked by the realities of life in the bigger world, the mother-son bond is highly believable. The novel was inspired by the case of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who incarcerated his daughter in a basement for 24 years and systematically raped and impregnated her, but obviously the crime element is lessened. The incarceration and claustrophobia works fantastically for the dark first half, then when the break into the outside occurs it really delves into the complexities of the real world, this is absolutely from the point of view of the innocent child, nightmarish and emotional, but ultimately a thrilling, uplifting and well executed story, a must see drama. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay for Emma Donoghue, it was nominated the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay. Very good!