Review of Room (2015) by Themattman2 — 28 Jan 2016

All I can say is, “Wow.” The best movies to me are the ones that make you sit and think afterwards. A good action/adventure movie is good, but a really good drama can really hit you.

A girl is kidnapped at 17 and forced to live in a locked garden shed. Now it’s 7 years later and she has a boy (played by Jacob) who just turned 5. To ease his life, she has led him to believe that their “room” is all that there is to the world and reality.

They do eventually get out. That’s not a spoiler, because the trailers and even the movie description says so. Don’t worry, that’s not ruining the ending. Though exciting and suspenseful, it’s not the end of the movie. Imagine writing a review for The Great Escape without dropping the bombshell that the prisoners escape at some point. Spoiler Alert.

The best part of the movie is in the acting, particularly the young Jack (played by Jacob). You see a full range of emotions in him that would be expected on an older actor, yet at the same time he is innocent, as a boy should be. You see fear, anger, and best of all wonder. You can see when he’s trying to puzzle out an idea. You feel triumphant with him at times. The movie makes you want to cheer out loud at parts. There were even some scenes were I wondered if the young Jacob would be able to pull off the needed performance. He does, and quite well.

And then you can feel the tragedy in the whole situation. Young Jacob isn’t the only top-notch actor here. The mother and the entire supporting cast are quite good. The movie shows wonder when it needs to show wonder and it shows pain when it needs to hurt.

The cinematography is wonderful. Most scenes are shot from the young Jack’s view, sometimes too close, off-angle, or slightly out-of-focus. Here it adds to the emotions that Jack is showing.

I don’t know about a “feel good” movie, but it is certainly a “feel” movie.