Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

[biggins]

No trailers at Westerhailes and a very busy Saturday morning screening. A very emotional film because of the 9/11 moments in it. Think everyone can remember where they were when the news broke and the horrific scenes on TV that day.
I enjoyed the film and heard a few sniffles and nose blowing but it had humour in it too which lightened it. Thought the 6th message would be more emotional than it was but perhaps that would have been too much for those with their hankies out!!

[spoiler]Surprised that after three years the duck tape was still there holding down the note he found so easily on the swing![/spoiler]
8/10 for me.

[alythonian]

From the article in last week's Sunday Times with Stephen Daldry it said you'd either love or hate this. There was no middle ground.

I think I found the middle ground. I neither loved it nor hated it. It kind of just washed over me. Yes it was sentimental, yes it was bizarre in part but it just didn't get me and I didn't get it.

Sorry. 6/10 from me, for being OK.

[marjoreemarjora]

Feel more like you Alythonian...... Although child acting very good, found it hard to get into and yes after all the discussion/controversy about the film was interested to see it. Not one I loved but not one I hated. memorable because of the subject perhaps but not one I would recommend either. So probably 5.5/10 form me like others I have seen this year.

[sikmansam]

Went to see this at Stratford picture house today and found it rather enjoyable, yet not fantastic. The child acting was indeed very good and the final quite well explained, but i think at 129 it kind of dragged. 7/10, review coming soon. Thanks again for hdaniel82 for the tickets!

[Beate]

Right, after a good cry and some Tex-Mex food, I feel almost human again.

This was quite a difficult watch for me. The boy Oscar was very grating and you had to remember he was so cruel to his mother because of his grief and he was so annoying because he didnt' know how else to behave. The poor boy, self-harming at such a young age, it was almost too much to bear. He lost the one person in his life he had a special connection with, and it took his search for the key to find out that there are plenty more interesting people out there with stories of their own, like the mute Max von Sydow and a tearful Viola Davis - people who carry their own grief but are all affected by 9/11 on a national scale as well. There were some incredibly good performances here, wish we had got more of Sandra Bullock who wasn't her ususal cute rom-com personality here. I found the shot of falling people distasteful too.

I swore to myself that I wouldn't cry and there was no reason for the longest time, but at the end it got me anyway and I needed my tissues. Luckily I had a corner seat.

The screening at Greenwich PH was very full and very solemn and quiet, clearly the DLR not running didn't deter most people. A few people strangely left about 15 minutes from the end, I can only imagine they had tickets for The Descendants next door and didn't want to miss the beginning.

7.5/10

[jeanelle]

I enjoyed this very much and my OH who is Extremely Picky and Incredibly Difficult to Entertain did too.

Very good to see prettyxcool and Ms Thrifty at Clapham.

[canadian_turtle]

I thought this was a very captivating film and I was surprised by how moving I thought all the various stories were. Reading other reviews were people said that Oscar is very unsympathetic I was prepared to cringe at his actions, but instead I found myself completely believing everything he did and understanding why he was so cruel at times. He is so much like a young boy I know in real life, down to the harsh words to his mother and raging fits, and I thought it was a really realistic depiction. Sure, he's not always a nice or even good kid, but then neither are those in real life. It truly was an astonishing performance by the boy who plays Oscar.

The stories of all the people he meets on his search for the lock are unique, interesting and thankfully a distraction from Oscar's storyline as watching 2+ of just him and his trauma would probably have been too difficult to endure (already I had a lump in my throat for most of the film!). And I was really pleasantly surprised by the mother's revelation at the end.

[spoiler]Even though it was irrelevant in Oscar's story I wish we could've found out what was in the safety deposit box, I really hope it gave Mr Black more of a closure than the letter did.[/spoiler]

Also, thank heavens for FINALLY an audience who was quiet for the majority of the film and were able to stay away from their phones for 2 hours. It really made a difference to the viewing experience.

8.5/10

[Beate]

[spoiler]Oskar was such a clever an logical boy so why would he think his dad died that way? I thought when we eventually got to the 6th message there'd be evidence to think that but it was the opposite. His dad was still in the building and on the phone when it collapsed. And that adds to the feeling that they're 'using' 9/11 too much in the film.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I think it had to do with his Dad telling him about swinging as high as he could when he was a kid and then letting go and jumping off, and while flying through the air, truly feeling free. So maybe it was wishful thinking.[/spoiler]

[Diane65]

Really looking forward to watching this, it sounds like a will need a box of tissues as I wear my heart on my sleeve.

[ejwrank]

Yes this is a weepie -- at least it was for me. I think I knew what to expect and it was a very sentimental film and there were things that I didn't like about it, but some good performances and touching moments and I'm glad I saw it. Maybe we should have a thread about films we're glad we saw and especially glad we didn't p*y for???

Want to add that I saw this at The Hackney Picturehouse which was once again lovely. The audience didn't check their phones, didn't chat and very little food was carted in and consumed during the film. And it's a very comfortable place so bravo Hackney Picturehouse.