Prepare Yourselves: 'Room' (2015) Will Emotionally Destroy Everyone
"Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing," a young mother whispers to her son as she convinces him to play dead and escape from their longtime captor in Lenny Abrahamson's latest directorial effort, Room (2015).
There is an astounding amount of bravery in the telling and performing of Room's difficult story. Based on Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name, Room is told entirely from the perspective of five-year-old Jack, played with startling sincerity by Canadian-born Jacob Tremblay. Jack has grown up in a single room, raised by his mother (Brie Larson) who was kidnapped at 17 and held captive by a man Jack calls "Old Nick." In the first segment of the film's three acts, Jack introduces us to his world, inviting us to share in his imaginings and fantasies.
It's remarkable how well Donoghue's novel has adapted to film. No doubt aided by Donoghue herself taking on the role of screenwriter, Room manages to capture Jack's narrative voice with simplicity and earnestness. Abrahamson focuses quite heavily on tight close-ups that decontextualize objects while framing faces in claustrophic frames that make even the most detached observer develop sweaty palms.
The film will also no doubt garner acting nominations this awards season for its major players. Brie Larson, in partcular, offered up a powerhouse performance that managed to navigate Ma's roles as both a loving mother and as a traumatized young woman. Larson has received acting accolades before, most notably for her work in Shot Term 12, but Room might just be the film to catapult her to the top of the "Young Actresses to Watch" list. (And let's face it, we've all heard enough about Jennifer Lawrence at this point).
Jacob Tremblay, too, provided an incredibly moving performance. His emotional vulnerability captured the audience entirely--it's hard not to admire an eight-year-old who can not only handle the seriousness of the film's content, but also produce from this content a performance many adult actors would be envious of.
In a press conference for Room at TIFF, author Emma Donoghue said that she does not view the film or novel as a story of a kidnapping, but as a love story between mother and son. There is no doubt that Room refuses to feed into victimhood, to aestheticize kidnapping and rape. The film has every chance to do so, but it is Jack's presence that changes things. Jack finds love throughout the entirety of his harrowing experience. He and Ma's bond of mother and son is the heart of the film. Old Nick, though villain, is not given the opportunity to find himself in a leading role in either of their lives.
As the viewer comes to realize, (as trite as it may sound), even in the darkest of times, throughout the most disturbing experiences, childlike optimism and pure, unconditional love are the keys out of the darkness.
I give this film 4.5/5 Child Stars
