I am in a hurry these days to finish watching all Oscar nominated movies before the main event this Sunday. One down, just two more to go.Room is an excellent small film focused on a kidnapping and rape victim Joe and her son, Jack who has never seen the outside world and considers other people except her maa as aliens. The story goes through Joe's struggles both in and out of the room through the eyes of Jack. The characters are really strong and Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay carry the movie expertly on their shoulders. It is no wonder Brie got a Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role.
I wondered after watching this movie if its easier to make a film with just 2 or limited characters as all attention of character development is limited to a small number and I am still finding answers to that but what I do know is that the camera is always on those actors so much more that it has to be an absolute best performance delivery and both Brie and Jacob do that to the tee. It touches your heart. It was also a nice story arc in the movie to see Jack and Joe's contradictory reactions to adapting to life after escaping the confines of the room. Jack adjusted to the "alien" world nicely (Although slowly) while Joe had real problems and even suicidal tendencies opposite to what she had imagined when she was living in the room. And this change in character was brilliantly portrayed by the actors.
Coming to the negatives, I did find some situations too emotional to be true but it is so hard to say that when you are not the one in the protagonist's place. Also, considering this is inspired by true stories, I will not judge. The boy's escape scene did feel too easy to conduct. Other than that, a fine movie with a no-nonsense approach and yet so deep in acting and direction. That reminds me, big shout out to director Lenny Abrahamson as well.