Since my son Matt and I had today (President's Day) off, we decided to head to the movies. We saw Room, an amazing film based on the book by the same name by Emma Donoghue. The story is a grim one - Joy (played by Brie Larson, who has already won a Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA Award for her powerful, nuanced performance) has been held as a sex slave in a backyard shed by a man she refers to as "Old Nick", who grabbed her at the age of 17. Joy has been in the shed for 7 years, and has given birth to a son, Jack, who is now 5 years old. The story is told from Jack's point of view (played with incredible empathy by 9 year old Jacob Tremblay), who has never left the shed, which he refers to as "room". As far as he knows, the rest of the world is literally a made up story, and his mom shows incredible cleverness and heroism by helping him to handle his captivity by spinning fantasies that enable Jack to make the best of a hellish situation.
I'm not much of a crier, but I must admit that I came very close to blubbering out loud multiple times during this movie. The writing was superb, and the directing and acting were great. From the nail-biting escape sequence to the challenging transition back into the "world" after Joy and Jack's ordeal is finally over, the movie depicts heartbreak and heroism in a way few films are ever honest enough to achieve. Brie Larson had better make "room" for a best actress Oscar on her quickly filling awards shelf. This is the least expensive, but most deserving of the movies up for Best Picture. Let's hope the Academy sees it that way as well.
Tom & Matt's Ratings (out of 10):
Tom's score - 10
Matt's score - 9.25
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