Film: Room
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers
Rating: 4.5/5
If you haven’t read Emma Donoghue's 2010 novel Room then I suggest you do so straight after reading this article. Donohue has written a movie adaptation of her novel, and it is directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
For anyone who hasn’t read or heard of the novel, it centres on a mother (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son, who live as captives of a kidnap. Jack Newsome (Jacob Tremblay) has lived his entire life in one room, and knows nothing of the outside world.
It shouldn’t work, but it does. Spectacularly.
His mother, Joy Newsome, has been a prisoner in the room for seven years, after her captor 'Old Nick' (Sean Bridgers) lured her to his shed on the pretence of having a sick dog. Joy hides Jack in the cupboard every night as Old Nick comes to sleep with her.
Jack's only knowledge of the real world comes from the TV in the room. He believes everything within the room to be the only real things in the world. It is clear he is mentally imprisoned as well as physically.
He sadly asks his mother about his dreams; "Do we go into the TV when we're dreaming?"
His perception of the world is simply ‘Room,’ outer space (TV) and heaven.
At the beginning of the film, Jack turns 5. After Old Nick grows violent with Joy and expresses financial concerns, Joy decides that they must escape. She decides to tell Jack the truth.
She tells him that now that he is 5, he is old enough to understand. When she tries to explain about the outside world, Jack thinks she is lying, so incomprehensible is the concept to him. He begins to scream and cry, and call her a liar. (“I wanna be 4 again!” he cries)
She forms a plan that will allow Jack to escape. She gives Jack instructions, and in a heart-breaking scene, she lies to Jack and reassures him she will join him later. Will it work? And how will Jack cope in the outside world?
Larson produces an Oscar-worthy performance as a weary, protective mother. There is a wonderful chemistry between the two, and the mother-son relationship is completely believable. The film itself is a testament to the bond between mother and child.
Tremblay's acting is staggering for a 9-year-old, and he is utterly convincing in his part. The incredulity and awe on the boy's face when he sees the open sky for the first time is a hair-raising moment. Unsurprisingly, Tremblay has been nominated for a plethora of awards for his performance.
The film is beautifully written by Donoghue. It is tense, moving, and multi-layered. It is harrowing and touching in equal measure.
The second half of the film deals with life outside the room, and it is equally captivating. (“The world is like all TV planets, all at the same time”) It turns out that life outside the room can be equally harrowing (“Sometimes I miss it”). Joan Allen and William H Macy turn in powerful performances in the supporting roles of Nancy and Robert Newsome respectively. Tom McCamus is also effective as Leo, a good-natured friend of the Newsome family. Escaping is only the beginning, and there are plenty more hurdles to overcome.
Room has been nominated for four Oscars, and rightly so. It is original, unique, touching and provocative.
You won't see many better movies in 2016, and you're sure to be thinking about it long after the final credits roll.
