Room - A-

Quick Hit: A lot of emotional impact in one small package, Jacob Tremblay stars in this film that carries much more weight than the title suggests.

Some movies talk about things we don’t always like talking about. I’ve mentioned this with Chi-raq and a few other titles. Room is a movie that generated a lot of buzz during awards season last year. And it’s easy to understand why – when you tackle topics such as long-term kidnapping, you tend to make a powerful movie, and powerful movies get recognized. However, the person that got recognized the most was Brie Larson (Joy/Ma in the film). This makes sense, to a point, as she is the recognizable ​actress that is one of the main characters. She won an Oscar for Best Actress. But, I don’t understand why we didn’t see young Jacob Tremblay up on that stage more. Sure, he presented, and he arguably stole the entire night, but man… I think the only reason he wasn’t was because he would have stolen Leo’s overdue Oscar.
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Anyways, there’s the start of my rant, let’s move on to the movie (I'm sure I'll hit on it again).

Room is the story of a young woman who is kept in captivity in a shed by a man who repeatedly rapes her (this is not a story for those that are easily affected by emotion). After a couple years, she bore a child, Jack (Tremblay), who she convinces that the small Room he knows is the only place in the world. TV shows magical things like oceans and animals. There is only the select food their captor (Old Nick) 

brings them, and it’s nothing worth eating. We don’t find out much about Nick, besides that he is violent and easy to snap.

​The early scenes in Room (because it has taken on a proper name, much as we do for Earth) are incredibly moving. There are scenes of track (Jack has to run back and forth across the room), imaginative play, and also scenes of Jack saying good morning to everything in the small room. 

He sleeps inside a wardrobe, where Joy has placed him so that he cannot see what Old Nick does to her each night. It’s horrifying, touching, and ultimately entrancing. You need to know more about this young boy, as he continues to show why children are nearly unbreakable beings.

I will continue to talk about this movie, but there’s so much that happens that I have to put up a spoiler warning.

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Seriously, he's a cute kid. Makes this even harder to watch.

Eventually, Joy decides to break the façade that she has built for young Jack, in order to enlist his help to escape. They succeed (barely), and then go back to daily life. Besides a scene that is rather confusing starring a poorly underused William H. Macy (I get that he probably doesn’t want to look at the child because it reminds him of who the father is, but come on man. It’s your grandson), the scenes here continue on with the two’s lives. Jack slowly seems to be adjusting (as I said, unbreakable), but Joy has more problems, especially after a Dateline (Primetime? I kind of lost the name here) interview about her ordeal.

The stress causes her to attempt suicide, and maybe that ends up being good for young Jack, as he is allowed to live his life much as a normal boy would – without the stress of being with an infamous mother. They are eventually reunited, and begin the process of learning to cope and understand what happened to them.

Much of Room is wonderfully shot, with up-close cameras that give us a familiarity with the characters. There's a definite attention to the use of light: where it is placed, what shades of light and dark we see and when. We can see the toll that it is taking on their faces and bodies up close (props go to the make-up department, as well as the actors). However, going back to what I said in the beginning, it is the acting that truly carries the film. Brie Larson is equal parts strong and vulnerable, allowing us to see the variability in mood that accompanies someone who has experienced the terrible ordeal that she has. But, I just wasn’t as impressed with her as most were. She was powerful, and it was a terrific performance, but it’s one that I think was overshadowed by young Tremblay.

He is the heart and soul of the film. You trust him immediately, and his entire performance screams growth. He shows fear, anger, vulnerability, tantrums, acceptability, happiness, sadness, and just about any emotion that you could throw out there. There’s nothing that you could ask more of an actor that what was asked of him, and he carries it gracefully without having to shove his performance into your ​f​ace. His understated performance is what made this movie, and at least he received some recognition in his native Canada, as well as 

winning some awards for Breakout Performance or Up-and-Comer. However, I still would have liked to see him on-stage as an Oscar Winner, or at least a nominee.

I really enjoyed Room, but be prepared for its emotional impact. It may sneak up on you.
I’m giving Room an “A-“.      
                                                                                                                         
For more on this film, check out IMDB.