Room (A-) Movie Review
Room stars Brie Larson as Ma, a woman who was kidnapped at the age of seventeen by a man named Old Nick. She's still being kept in Old Nick's shed, which includes a television, a bathtub, a bed, and a couple of necessities. Ma now has a child, Jack, played by Jacob Tremblay, who has come to the age that Ma thinks is a good time to tell him about their real situation.
And even though the story goes quite a bit further than this, I feel like I shouldn't tell you more than that brief summary. Room is just a really great film to walk into if you know nothing about what you're walking into. But even if you do, it probably won't lessen your experience because this a really beautiful piece of work.
Brie Larson absolutely shines here as Ma, delivering one of the most emotionally complex, layered, and transfixing performances of the year. Dare I call it, the best performance of the year? Seriously, we've known Larson to be a good actress for a while but she deserves many awards for this heartbreaking performance.
And speaking of incredible performances, Jacob Tremblay is in this film. I believe he was seven or eight when shooting began and he delivers one of the best youth performances of the current millennium alongside Elle Fanning in Ginger & Rosa and Chloe Grace Moretz in Kick-Ass. It's far more textured than any performance we generally see from young actors. Not only is it believable (the bare minimum for a child performance to be deemed "good") but it's also quite moving.
As I said before, it's good to not know much about Room beforehand but for those not looking for a searingly emotional and profound picture, you might want to skip this one because Room is all kinds of moving. This film has some of the best scenes of any film this year, many of them taking place in the first half. Not to say the second half doesn't have its moments but that is my small problem with the film. Otherwise, it's a wholly compelling film, in equal amounts devastating and uplifting.
I'm very tempted to give Room a perfect "A" because of how much it moved me during it's two hour run time. I'm convinced that it's the best film I've seen so far this year (I have yet to see some heavy awards contenders). There is a small issue of pacing that I don't think came out of Emma Donoghue's brilliant screenplay but perhaps in the editing. There's a narrative shift that takes place about halfway through the film that completely changes the game for our two protagonists, Jack and Ma. And I think some of the scenes that came out of this were not as emotionally interesting as they could have been. It hardly got in the way of my enjoyment of the film, though, because the whole endeavor is really quite compelling throughout.
You guys need to check out Room when/if it comes to a theater near you. I drove an hour to see this film and it was completely rewarding. Seriously, this is a powerful cinematic experience.
FINAL GRADE: A-
MPAA RATING: R for language
And even though the story goes quite a bit further than this, I feel like I shouldn't tell you more than that brief summary. Room is just a really great film to walk into if you know nothing about what you're walking into. But even if you do, it probably won't lessen your experience because this a really beautiful piece of work.
Brie Larson absolutely shines here as Ma, delivering one of the most emotionally complex, layered, and transfixing performances of the year. Dare I call it, the best performance of the year? Seriously, we've known Larson to be a good actress for a while but she deserves many awards for this heartbreaking performance.
And speaking of incredible performances, Jacob Tremblay is in this film. I believe he was seven or eight when shooting began and he delivers one of the best youth performances of the current millennium alongside Elle Fanning in Ginger & Rosa and Chloe Grace Moretz in Kick-Ass. It's far more textured than any performance we generally see from young actors. Not only is it believable (the bare minimum for a child performance to be deemed "good") but it's also quite moving.
As I said before, it's good to not know much about Room beforehand but for those not looking for a searingly emotional and profound picture, you might want to skip this one because Room is all kinds of moving. This film has some of the best scenes of any film this year, many of them taking place in the first half. Not to say the second half doesn't have its moments but that is my small problem with the film. Otherwise, it's a wholly compelling film, in equal amounts devastating and uplifting.
I'm very tempted to give Room a perfect "A" because of how much it moved me during it's two hour run time. I'm convinced that it's the best film I've seen so far this year (I have yet to see some heavy awards contenders). There is a small issue of pacing that I don't think came out of Emma Donoghue's brilliant screenplay but perhaps in the editing. There's a narrative shift that takes place about halfway through the film that completely changes the game for our two protagonists, Jack and Ma. And I think some of the scenes that came out of this were not as emotionally interesting as they could have been. It hardly got in the way of my enjoyment of the film, though, because the whole endeavor is really quite compelling throughout.
You guys need to check out Room when/if it comes to a theater near you. I drove an hour to see this film and it was completely rewarding. Seriously, this is a powerful cinematic experience.
FINAL GRADE: A-
MPAA RATING: R for language