Room

Short verdict: Intimate and enthralling, Room is a powerhouse of acting and subtle filmmaking. Headed by a stunning turn by Brie Larson, the film also offers one of the best child performances of all time 

What would it be like raising a child trapped in a single, permanently locked, room? This is the concept of Room, a film based on the novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue. Loosely inspired by a real life incident (the infamous Fritzl case), Room takes a grim premise and manages to turn it into a look at hope in literally the smallest of places. Brie Larson plays Joy, a young woman kidnapped by an older man, who is routinely raped and gave birth to a child inside a single, locked room. She now spends her days striving to escape boredom and raising her child Jack (creating him a dream-like world where TV serves as an island of different realities – theirs just being one), whilst looking for a chance to escape.

Brie Larson gives a powerhouse performance as Joy, grounding her in a sense of reality – she is a flawed human being like us all and has to make incredibly difficult choices which no-one should have to face. We are reminded of her incredible strength to go through such a trauma and her young age (she was essentially kidnapped as a teenager). The young actor who plays Jack deserves equal props. With Jack at the centre of the film, a bad child performance could easily derail the whole thing. This is a difficult character to play even for an adult, so the fact that he pulls it off and is incredibly effective and emotional is miracle in and of itself. I would dare say this is one of the best child performances I have ever seen in a film – again the film’s commitment to a sense of reality means Jack is both charming and sweet yet also prone to extreme mood swings. We understand and see most things through his perspective and are along for the insane ride that he's on. 

The film commits to its concept 100%. The first half we are exclusively trapped in this one room and director uses every trick imaginable to make this a cinematic experience. We never get establishing shots of ‘room’, just extreme close-ups or mid-shots. This way we understand the geography of the set from the characters’ perspective and understand that this is their whole world. The only establishing shot we get is at the very end of the film, a tracking shot showing the whole room (which has subsequently been seized by the police). Both the audience and Jack and Joy are shocked at the size of the room and serves as a key indicator of their character development. It's a subtle and powerful moment that lingers on after the credits have rolled. The whole film is punctuated by great scenes such as this. While the first half is an intimate and intense look at the two characters’ relationship and plot to escape (which in and of itself would be enough for a good film) the second half commits to the aftermath of such a trauma and both characters’ adjustment to life outside. While no film could truly communicate the years (if not life time) of psychological trauma an event such as this would enact, I do appreciate the length of the time committed to exploring this as thoroughly as possible. Jack has to deal facing the fact that his concept of reality is a lie and has to learn to adjust to the world – in some moments he even pines for the simple life ‘room’ offered.  Joy is faced with picking up the pieces of her life after she was kidnapped and attempting to adjust back to her old life (which, ultimately, is not possible) and this makes for the most dramatic moments of the film.

Room’s best attribute is that a concept which sounds grim and turgid on paper becomes engrossing and enriching. There are grim elements to it but the film rather chooses to concentrate on the intense relationship between and. The fact that it manages to have small moments of levity whilst not undermining its subject matter. Sentimentality never creeps in. Jack’s escape from ‘Room’ is wonderfully executed and is one part exhilarating and in the other part terrifying. Its Room’s excellent balance of tone that keeps the audience emotionally enraptured in its story.

Long verdict: Room is an excellent film, expertly telling its intimate story with subtle filmmaking and excellent acting. A film that will long stick with you after the credits have rolled, Room excels at committing itself to exploring its central. And it never gets bogged down in its grim concepts and has genuine moments of levity (whilst not undermining its very serious subject matter)

Rating: 9/10