Room Review

Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H. Macy

Room has one of the most fascinating premises I've heard. The novel by Emma Donaghue (who also wrote the movie's screenplay) is from five-year-old Jack's point of view, as he lives with his young mother Ma in a small enclosed room with one skylight. This "Room" is where he was born, and he's never seen outside. His mother teaches him everything as a singular. There is Bed, and Rug, and Tub. They are real. But other beds, and the things seen on their TV are pretend. It's all a game they play, and every day is the same routine. But what is a game to Jack, is survival for Ma. Ma is Joy Newsome, who was kidnapped as a child and has been prisoner in Room for seven years. Once she was alone, and now she has Jack, her child with her kidnapper. She's waited desperately to escape her prison, and now with Jack at five years old, she has her chance. Room is a fantastically written drama, with great performances from Larson and Tremblay.

Room is odd, because its climax is in the middle of the movie. Jack and Ma are freed. For Jack, this is his first encounter with the outside world. Up until now, this world was fake. He's never felt sunlight, or snow, or had any interaction with anyone but his mother. For Ma, this is the return to society. This is the moment she has waited for for ages. Room could be a satisfying story if it ended with their release. But Room dares to go further. Some stories don't have a picture-perfect ending. Both of them struggle and suffer in a society they don't fit into. Jack wants to go back to Room. Ma doesn't like the way people look at and treat her, and the accusations that her methods of raising her son were wrong. I'm calling it. Brie Larson is winning an Oscar for this movie. She undoubtedly deserves it for such an incredible role. She holds the movie together with her strength in the first half, then dissolves into a pitiful character in the second, showing her inner weakness. By then its Jacob Tremblay's performance that grounds the movie. It's amazing how their character growths mirror each other. She gets weaker, while he gets stronger. He needs her guidance, and then she needs his. I'd also like to point out this actor was seven years old when they filmed this. Yet he has such incredible talent.

While I did enjoy this movie a lot, I have a few criticisms. I think as far as directing goes, Lenny Abrahamson did the best he could do. It must be hard filming with such a small set. Some of the shots just seemed awkward and out of place to me. I'd say the editing was not strong. But Room succeeds in its acting. It really is a two person show, but Joan Allen is also very good as Ma's own mother, struggling to make her daughter happy. The strongest aspect is actually the writing. The movie is written by the author of the book, so readers of the book can be assured it's no different. The difference for me was that I had a hard time feeling the emotions the characters felt. It was as if I were looking at them, I could see they were struggling, but I didn't feel their struggle. I commend the acting, but I just couldn't identify. In a movie that sounds like an emotional gutpunch, I didn't even shed a tear. That's a very little criticism, but it did take away from the movie for me. If you're into awards frontrunners, Room has to be on your list before the Academy Awards.

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