Directed by:
Lenny AbrahamsonScreenplay:
Emma DonoghueCinematography:
Danny CohenComposer:
Stephen RennicksCast:
Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Amanda Brugel, Cas Anvar, Jack Fulton, Megan Park, Tom McCamus, Rory O'Shea (more)VOD (3)
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To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world... It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer. (Elevation Pictures)
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A massive attempt to manipulate audiences that is far from flawless and inventive as far as the story is concerned, working more or less with artfully bent family motifs, but formally and above all in terms of the acting, has nothing to reproach and fulfils to perfection its sole purpose, to reach the audience in sensitive emotional spheres. And that is all there is to it... 85%
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As in her book, Emma Donoghue thoroughly sticks to Jack’s perspective. Whatever he doesn’t see and hear, we don’t see and hear. In addition to perceiving all of reality through the boy's eyes, we also hear his off-screen commentary, which, though it helps us to understand what makes the unalluring room magical for him, also betrays the book-based origin of the story. ___ The film does not try to shock us with explicit details of the characters’ suffering. By leaving a lot to the imagination, it puts us in a situation similar to that in which Jack finds himself. Unlike Jack, however, we quickly find out that Nick, for example, is not a kind uncle, but a heartless monster. Besides the limited breadth of our knowledge, which at first is comforting and later disturbing, the intertwining of the camera’s perspective with that of a five-year-old boy is manifested by shooting from the level of Jack’s eyes (we usually see the adults from below). Thanks to that, some of the characters and objects seem more terrifying or more mysterious than they actually are and the sudden “change of scale” in the second half of the film, when the camera level rises for the first time, is as stunning and liberating for us as it is for Jack. ___ The room itself, which seemed like an endless magical kingdom thanks to the editing, music and lively camerawork, becomes just an ordinary room. The second half of the story also has far more dramatic potential and emotional intensity than the first half, which in retrospect comes across as a stiff, needlessly long and perhaps gratuitously cruel prelude. Suddenly there are many more directions that the narrative could have taken. Despite expectations, however, the new sources of tension and conflict do not originate in the crime-thriller genre, but in psychological (melo)drama. ___ However, prioritising emotional conflict over external action is sufficiently justified by the continuous drawing of our attention to the bond between mother and son, or rather the ability to adapt our emotional ties to the environment in which we live. Together with Jack and Joy, we gradually realise that the world that they have created for themselves was not bound to a particular place. They carry it within themselves and are unable to leave it. The question of whether they can handle living outside of their room, or allowing someone else into it, thus becomes crucial.___ Whereas on a basic level Room suggestively evokes, with the aid of the smallest physical details, the situation of a person in captivity, we can approach it on another level as a (Platonic) parable about the (virtual) worlds in which we enclose ourselves. ___ Some viewers may be bothered by the fact that Abrahamson does not handle the sensitive subject matter with the cold-bloodedness of, for example, Michael Haneke and does not completely avoid emotional manipulation. On the other hand, he doesn’t make the situation excessively easy for his characters or offer easy solutions to their traumas. The subtly nuanced acting of Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson significantly contributes to the ambivalent feelings, which ordinary tear-jerkers try to avoid. It is also to their credit that Room works best (and offers the greatest viewing satisfaction) as a maternal melodrama about the fine line between love and hate. 80%
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It’s difficult to speculate to what extent the experiences, emotions and situations depicted are truly authentic and relevant, as the experience is so very specific, unique and unimaginably agonizing. From the filmmakers' point of view, we can call it more like "directorial or scriptwriting ideas" and a kind of an extract of clips and experiences – or perhaps one of the turning points of a 7-year long story – and there weren't enough of those ideas and clips for an emotional charge. It's a raw, sharp and straightforward film, it's just that the setup is too lacking in density and cohesiveness and some crucial question marks towards the main characters arise as the story progresses, but the viewer isn't given the answers, and so the most complete and emotionally resonant scenes are often the simplest (Jack with the dog, etc.). But credit where credit is due to both the direction and the fantastic Brie Larson, who has set up a career as a dramatically talented actress like Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore. Lots of music in a minimal amount of space, but there’s no orchestra.
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I didn't have much faith in this film, but it was a very pleasant surprise. A dense, emotional and unflinching drama with an original idea, excellent acting performances, especially Jacob Tremblay, he’s the future Leonardo Dicaprio, just check out his promising future prospects. The first hour is great, especially in the unpredictable unraveling of the mystery, the second is less engaging, yet the psychological aspect can sway the viewer decently. Very good. 80%.
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A really rough story that couldn’t have gotten a better movie adaptation. The best scene comes in about half of the movie. I was just staring, completely speechless. Not only is it great how this movie tackled the difficult premise, but also that it includes the consequences and I really liked that. What’s more, the previously unimpressive Brie Larson has shown how great her acting can be in the end. The 8-year-old Jacob Trembley was also outright amazing. Overall, not an easy movie to watch, but the more it makes you think.
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