Plot: Jack (Tremblay) and his mom (Larson) have been in Room for Jack's entire life. He and his mom have been trapped in there since before he was born. Their captor, Old Nick (Bridgers) occasionally comes by to bring supplies and do...other things with his mom. This isn't a plot driven movie nor do they put in much effort to hide this, so I'll go ahead and say that they escape. The rest of the movie is about them adapting to the outside world after seven years.
Thoughts:
I have to begin with how excellent Larson and Tremblay are. A couple months back, I was floored by how good Larson was in Short Term 12. She's even better here. It's an unglamorous role and she fully inhabits it. In the beginning, she's tired and she's worn down, but not hopeless. After escaping, she's confused and depressed by how the world kept moving on. It's a powerhouse performance. Somehow, Tremblay matches her. He is too young to be able to be this good. I don't understand it. Even with the best child actors you can sense when they're being directed. That's not the case with Tremblay. He is just too good to be that young. I would love to see him sneak into the Oscar field. And those two work so well together. I have to imagine they did nothing being joke around with each other on set, because their rapport is so natural and easy.
Don't go thinking this is just a performance piece though. It's a well made movie all around. For the parts when we're in Room the whole time, there's excellent use of space. The location feel confined, not the storytelling. You understand how they could survive as well as how they couldn't get out for so long. The escape from Room is as nerve wrecking as anything I've seen this year, even when I knew it was going to work. Despite the escape, by far the most exciting part, happening about midway through though, the rest of the movie doesn't drag. There's so much going on. Jack gets to experience the world for the first time. His mom has to figure out what to make of a world that would let this happen to her. Joan Allen and Tom McCamus do great work as the mom and stepfather of Larson, trying to understand this new situation. The story never spells everything out. I know everything that I need to, but it also feels like there's several hours' worth of back story to everything.
Look, this is not a cheery movie. It's very depressing at times. It's going to be a while before I see it again. The ending isn't joyous. It's bittersweet. Know all that going in. It's worth seeing, but you need to prepare for it.
Elephant in the Room: The elephant is a little hard, because I've already covered it. They do escape. I haven't seen the trailer(s) for this or anything, so I don't know if they're hiding that in the marketing. It doesn't matter though. This isn't The Great Escape. And knowing it doesn't make the struggle any less compelling.
To Sum Things Up:
At times bleak, but ending with something approaching happy, Room is held together by fantastic performances from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. Don't be surprised if this makes a lot of noise when the Oscars are announced. It's deserved.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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