Review of Room (2015) by Richard V — 03 Mar 2016

This is an excellent movie with some pretty damn amazing central performances. I know Brie Larson won the Oscar for Best Actress, but, I thought, that Jacob Tremblay pretty much stole the show, to me. And that's not taking absolutely anything away from Brie Larson, who did a fantastic job at balancing the reality, and desperation, of her situation versus her attempts to keep some sort of normalcy for her son, whose entire life has been spent in this shed without any actual interaction in the real world.

Her body language in how she tries to hide her frustration to make it so that everything is fine is excellent and a testament to Brie's dedication to her role. But, like I said, Jacob pretty much steals the show here.

The film, while featuring some really disturbing elements and a story that's a little too close to reality, also does feature some really beautiful moments. The relationship between Jack and his Ma, as he always refers to her, is definitely rocky, particularly once they are saved from the shed that's been Ma's "home' for seven years and Jack's "home" for his entire life.

It's interesting to see how, at first, Jack views his shed as anything and everything in his life and how, he feels, that everything that comes from his TV is fictional. And, obviously, that's his mother's influence on him as that kept his curiosity to explore the outside world at bay.

During certain scenes there's also some narration from Jack into how he sees the world and those are actually really well done, because it does provide some input into how he views the world from when he's inside the shed and, later on, when he's out of it and actually part of the 'real world' as it were.

The 'real world' parts of the film are also really strong and well done. It's interesting to see how Ma sort adjusts to all of the changes in her life, from her parents divorcing, to her mother remarrying and her father movie away, much more poorly than Jack adjusts to them.

Interesting considering that everything that Jack experiences out of the shed is the first time he's ever seen many of the things he once thought were fictional. Brie's character mental breakdown is fairly understandable given the circumstances, but she also starts to push those who love her the most away, even her son, who's learning to function without her but also needs and loves her more than anyone.

But, again, the film finds beauty in this story, even if it can get ugly and dark at times. Before the film ends with Jack and Ma going back to the shed for closure, there's this really sweet and touching montage of Ma and Jack finally getting back on the right path.

It might be seen as corny to some, but I felt it was earned given everything that the characters had been through on their journey. So, yes, this movie was pretty excellent. I forgot to mention the writing, but it was pretty fantastic all things considered.

Without that writing, the actors couldn't have shone the way they did. It really is a rewarding film to watch. The fantastic acting from both Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay is worth the admission alone, but the story will definitely hold your attention.

Highly recommended film right here.