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Issue: Summer 2015-6
Room (2015) movie review
Discovering the World
Movie poster, Room
Love knows no boundaries
Room tells the extraordinary story of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a spirited 5 year-old who is looked after by his loving and devoted Ma (Brie Larson). Like any good mother, Ma dedicates herself to keeping Jack happy and safe, nurturing him with warmth and love and doing typical things like playing games and telling stories. Their life, however, is anything but typical--they are trapped--confined to a windowless, 10-by-10-foot space.
With the stories that we see in the media, the audience quickly believes that Ma and Jack are captives of a Bad Man.
Ma gives her son rudimentary food, exercise, hygiene, and love. She also gives him a peculiar mythology where the sky beyond the skylight is outer space, aliens are outside Room, and Room is the world.
Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay in Room (photo courtesy Roadshow Films)
Visits from 'Old Nick' bring supplies, and Nick is the only one with the code to the metal door.
But Ma decides the time has come to escape, and first she must tell Jack the truth.
Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay in Room (photo courtesy Roadshow Films)
This is a long set-up, but this simply-told story is full of complications. The world that Ma builds for Jack, and survives in for herself is constrained. Re-entering the world outside is fraught with terrors.
Scripter Emma Donoghue, who wrote the original novel, does a nice job with the script. Violence is suggested, but the worst is never shown. What is revealed is the human cost of the incarceration.
Director Lenny Abrahamson and the actors do a nice job with sometimes difficult material. The gradual revelation of the truths keeps the audience engaged. These are human characters in difficult situations. It's only human to be interested.
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by Ali Kayn |
Just the facts:Title: Room (2015) The Players: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay,Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, William H. Macy, Joan Allen Official website: roomthemovie.com IMDb entry For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section. For more information about this movie, check out the internet movie database. |
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Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: 03-Jan-2016