Review of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) by Scott G — 16 Oct 2012

It's easy to dismiss a film based on poor reviews and bad press. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close might be painful and frustrating to watch, but it is not a bad film. In fact, ELIC is a very good film. Panned for its sentimentality, panned for its apolitical stance on 911, panned for the perception that the film was poorly acted - the majority of professional film critics found one fault or another for this film. Frankly, both critics and audiences palates have been dulled by an onslaught of recent films with bold bright primary colors with little complexity, paced so frenetically that one might think that directors don't want to give their audiences a chance to stop and think how insipid the story is. ELIC, however, builds slowly and curiously, like taking a walk in a strange park for the first time. To complicate matters, we must take that walk with a protagonist that we are not meant to like and cannot grow to love. But, along the way we meet those around this unusual boy who we do care about, and if we watch carefully, begin to see the boy as they see him.

If it seems that I am being cagey with the details of this film, it's for a reason - I don't want to spoil the ending. ELIC has several powerful themes, one of which is discovery - and the theme of discovery is not just for the film's main character, but for the audience. ELIC is a puzzle film, the director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth intentionally avoid exposition, giving us hints and clues as to the real plight of our young hero. ELIC is rife with metaphor, and the key to this film - yes and no, pun intended - is the scene with a ringing phone call that rolls over to an answering machine and the message that is repeated over and over. If you can decrypt that metaphor, you'll have an a-ha moment akin to that of The Sixth Sense, except ELIC's is far more meaningful and poignant.

It's clear from the reviews which refer to child actor Thomas Horn as bratty or annoying, that those reviewers didn't solve the puzzle, unlike the character Oskar Schell. Had they figured it out, they might have been receptive to the film's sentiment. At best, those reviews can be generously described as Extremely Obnoxious and Incredibly Ignorant. Too harsh? Not if you figure out the puzzle.

I highly recommend this film for the travelogue of New York City alone. Run to Redbox or sign up for Premium cable, it's that good.