Room (2015)

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson 

Written by Emma Donoghue (screenplay and novel) 

Starring Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, and Joan Allen

     A movie that will make you happy cry, sad cry, and audibly rejoice throughout the 2 hours. Director, Lenny Abrahamson makes his big time debut with this drama adapted by the novel Room written by Emma Donoghue, who also wrote the screenplay. Donoghue perfectly transitions her masterpiece novel into a screenplay without leaving viewers repeating to themselves, "the book was better." 

     19 year old woman, Joy (Brie Larson) is abducted off the streets, taken captive in a garden shed and continuously raped by her captor (Sean Bridgers). After two agonizingly depressing years for her in captivity, she gives birth to a boy- Jack (Jacob Tremblay). With Jack growing up in this tiny room, he has no knowledge of the world outside of room. When Jack turns five, his Ma becomes increasingly more aware of how his growth effects their perilous situation. Ma then devises a plan of a great escape with the help of naive little Jack. The plan involves Jack playing dead, all rolled up in a rug as the captor who they call "Old Nick" removes him. Once Jack enters the outside world via Old Nick's truck, he jumps out and retrieves help from the first person he finds. With the assistance of the police, they find Ma and cue the hugging and crying as the two are reunited in the outside world. I watched this movie with my boyfriend and at this point he was waiting for the credits to start rolling not having read the book. This movie does not end on a note of optimism. 

    The second half of Room continues on with Ma and Jack's life outside of the four tiny walls of their once home. Although their life inside room is a major aspect of this film, the most important aspect is the post kid-napping return to normality. Like Donoghue's book, the movie is told from Jack's point of view of how he perceives the world. In room, Ma has sheltered Jack from the cruel reality of their situation by making him believe that the "world" is what exists behind the closed locked door of the shed they are kept in. Jack believes that everything he can see through their skylight is outer space, and that nothing on the television is real, and Old Nick is magic and comes from the fake television world. In the second half of the movie we see Ma struggle with their sudden freedom as Jack flourishes. Jack is seeing so many things for the first time, and Ma is stuck on all the wasted time she lost. 

     The screenplay differs from the novel in that we get to see a much more prominent role from Ma. Watching Brie Larson take on this intricate role is breath taking. Her acting in this movie is effortless and unforced almost as if this were a candid filming of an actual circumstance that happen to her. She plays her sons image of her - Ma. Not this un-hinged captive woman always seeking a way out. She's living everyday as Jack's Ma in what he thinks is their world. Larson had the role of her career in this film and scored an Academy Award win for it. Her performance was admirable and she perfectly portrays my expectations from Ma in the novel. Jacob Tremblay is eight years old. Every time I watch this movie I am reminding myself that. It is so incredible to watch his performance. Its not like any other child actor. I am shocked he didn't get an Oscar nomination for this. Joan Allen provides a strong supporting role as Joy's mom. 

     With such a horrific backstory, Room is surprisingly uplifting. The transition from captivity to reality is not one of peace and prosperity. It is honest and it is dark at some points and that is what sets this apart and makes it amazing. With true and real and impeccable acting performances from the two lead roles and an incredible adaptation from book to movie, Room is one of the best movies of the decade. 

I give Room a... 

10/10