Review of Room (2015) by Filmphonic — 19 Jan 2016

“Jack”, a five year-old boy, discovers the majesty of the world as he escapes the confines of a small room where he’s spent his entire life isolated from the world with his “Ma”, only to deal with reality and the emotional consequences of their extraordinary ordeal in this moving adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s award-winning novel.

‘Room’ is one of those films that’s difficult to review without spoiling some of the plot, but we’ll try to limit any narrative giveaways to what you can glean from the trailer.

An Indie gem that’s already making splashes on the awards circuit, ‘Room’ is a faithful adaptation of a book that’s inspired by the notorious Josef Fritzl case in Austria, where a man imprisoned his own daughter for decades in the family home basement and with whom he forcefully fostered several children in captivity.

Narrated and told from the point of view of young Jack, ‘Room’ retains a remarkable innocence and sense of wonderment in the face of darkness as Jack discovers the everyday things we take for granted and which he believed were an imaginary construct of “TV Land”, all brought to life brilliantly by an extraordinary performance from young actor Jacob Tremblay.

The heart of the film is made whole through Brie Larson’s superbly nuanced performance as Jack’s “Ma”, a young lady who manages to somehow create a nurturing environment within a seemingly endless nightmare, only to be confronted the emotional battle that comes with adapting to a world of independence while being anchored by a boy who both depends on and nurtures her. Made all the more poignant by the fact that she has in Jack, both a reason to live, and a constant reminder of her harrowing ordeal.

With evocative source material and a steady hand, director Lenny Abrahamson has crafted a simple but incredibly effective little movie that’s a perfect example of the best of what independent filmmaking has to offer.

The Bottom Line….

‘Room’ is a small but perfectly formed little flick in a big wide world, a multilayered indie gem that’s remarkably touching and life-affirming but never over sentimental, from a director that’s fast becoming a worthy representative of the independent movie industry.