Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closetouches the viewer to the very core. In the way thatTitanicandThe Sweet Hereafterdepicted tragedy by pulling back at the pivotal moment, only increasing the heartache portrayed,Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closeshows the massive losses experienced in New York on September 11, 2001, through the lens of one young boy. Thomas Horn plays Oskar, a boy devoted to his dad (played by Tom Hanks, in flashbacks), who is lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The devastation of that day shudders through Oskar's family, including his mother, Linda (Sandra Bullock, in a subdued and affecting turn). Young Oskar is lost in the broken new world, but suddenly finds a purpose: a key left by his father. AsExtremely Loud and Incredibly Closeprogresses, Oskar focuses on the key as a way to connect to his lost father--but finds, instead, connections in the unlikeliest of places. Horn is a wonder in his leading role, and commands attention even as his emotions are scattered. Hanks and Bullock are excellent, as always, though they are more incidental to the film than the viewer might have hoped. Standing out in the cast is Max von Sydow, a mysterious mute whom Oskar meets on the New York subway, and who becomes the most unlikely of guardian angels. Based on Jonathan Safran Foer's best-selling novel, which was able to depict a bit more wry humor to leaven the heartbreak and history lessons,Extremely Loud and Incredibly Closenonetheless faces human tragedy straight on, and shows how a broken family can be rebuilt, one small key, one subway ride, one awkward hug at a time. --A.T. Hurley