Screened Out – Room

[five-star-rating]Jacob Tremblay, Brie Larson, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Sean Bridgers, Tom McCamus[/five-star-rating]

Happy birthday, Jack! He’s just turned five years old; he’s lived his entire life locked up in a tiny room. His mother has been here seven years, captive of Old Nick. Old Nick is a sicko who built this soundproof trap in his backyard just so he could kidnap and keep a girl prisoner.

To say that Room is harrowing is an understatement. This powerful indie film is the perfect balance of tense, heartwarming, violent, ugly, beautiful, cruel, frightening, and redemptive. It’s the type of tiny movie that shocks audiences, what even the smallest stories can accomplish.

Room – as little, longhaired Jack (Tremblay) calls it in his simple voice-over – isn’t much: twelve by twelve feet. It’s covered on the inside in stained cork and sound-dampening foam. A small skylight is the only constant link to outside. Other than that, there’s that formidable prison door, a small kitchenette with a toaster oven, a toilet, a bed, a table, a fuzzy TV, and a wardrobe where Jake sleeps when Old Nick comes for his visits. Room is all Jack knows, playing games and exercising in the cramped space, with only Mom (Larson) for company. To protect her son, Jack’s mother has created simple stories and strict rules – there is no world outside of room, and Jack must never interact with Old Nick (Bridger). Little is said of her life before the kidnapping, even that her name is Joy Newsome.

It’s amazing that Old Nick let Joy keep the kid. Perhaps he was soft for his son. Maybe he knew that Joy was suicidal, and this was a way to stop her from killing herself. Also, Jack could easily be a bargaining chip for later. Who knows what Nick is thinking, really? He’s mentally deranged, a monster.

Room isn’t just about innocent, brave Jack and his possibility of transforming those around him. It’s also about his introduction to the real world outside their prison. More importantly, the movie explores his relationship with his mother – their shared terror and fierce, all-consuming love for each other and the possibility of moving beyond the disgusting horrors they’ve endured.

To tell you much more about the plot would spoil this incredible, intimate experience. Room is simply unforgettable.

Irish Emma Donoghue is a first-time scriptwriter, adapting her novel. She has a brilliant grasp of turning prose into visuals, character, and plot. Irish director Lenny Abrahamson (Frank) really captures the claustrophobia, fear, and wonder. He fantastically shoots the entire movie from Jack’s perspective – through the slats of his wardrobe, from the floor looking up at the skylight. It’s a joy to discover what new angle Abrahamson will show of Jack’s world.

[rating-key]

Larson (of Short Term 12) and Tremblay are both radiant, worthy of whatever awards this intimate film about a mother’s love can garner. Unfortunately, because this is a modest Irish/Canadian flick without a lot of Screen Actor or Producers’ Guild credits, it’s got a long haul to get to Oscars. It deserves all the attention it can muster, though, banging on the walls of Hollywood politics, hoping someone notices.

This tiny, terrifying Room is one of the best films of the year and one of the most memorable movie experiences I’ve had in a long time.