The story behind Room, one of 2015’s most visceral patriarchs, is this: Ma (Brie Larson) along with her son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay) have been imprisoned in a small condensed garden shed known only to Jack as ‘room’.  A room where he watches TV thinking it’s magic, screams out the skylight hoping to attract ‘aliens’ and where each night he is put to bed in a small closet that he calls “wardrobe” ‘only to stumble awake by the sound of his captour  “Old Nick” (Sean Bridgers) as he openly takes advantage of Ma (the reason Jack is around in the first place). For the little guy it’s only been five years in captivity (as the movie opens with us celebrating his birthday) – for Ma, it’s been seven long painful years away from her family, who, more than likely have given up hope on her survival. Warning, some minor spoilers maybe in the coming paragraph.  

I can’t sit here and tell you that Room was not the most emotional scarring, if not harrowing two hours of my life, because it was. That’s mainly due to the one-two punch of our lead performances by not just Brie Larson (who is a frontrunner for a Best Actress nomination) but her young co-star Jacob Tremblay who ideally conveys some tough gravitational pull as the young-innocent Jack. Finally a child actor that can’t just make us look at him thinking he is cute, Tremblay has a gift.  The first half of Room focus on the true bond between mother and son in, what feels like, a dense psychological thriller, complete with narration from inside Jacob’s head, and breakdowns from Ma. While the second act is the tier of their rescue while adapting in the real world. Specifically Jack, whose whole world lies in that small shed, where at times he still can’t differentiate not being in room. Basically we get two movies for the price of one.

Lenny Abrahamson seamlessly translate the wonderful pages of Emma Donoghue’s (she also wrote the screenplay) work to the big screen in a compelling adaptation. Although there one minor flaw involving a brief subplot with how Ma’s father, William H Macy, doesn’t accept Jack as his grandson, a topic that is briefly touched on then never surfaces again. In fact: Macy is only in the film for about ten minutes. However, that’s just one inkling in a film that has so much passion to be appreciated. Room is a compelling drama that is not only made stronger by the innocence of young Jack, when he sees the world for the first time. but the richness of the characters in general.  I can’t say you will leave this movie in glistening smiles, or rejoicing happiness, Room instead will leave you with a pain in your heart that can only be fixed by hugging a loved one. Take that time and appreciate those people in your life, because sometimes, as is the case with this picture, that can be a luxury.  A+

 

**One Of The Best Movies of 2015