Room

[kevinknapman]

Predictably tonight's Odeon Screen Unseen turned out to be a film I'd already seen at the London Film Festival. Thankfully that film was Room and I was more than happy to see it again.
If anything it was even more of an emotional rollercoaster second time around. The following is a review I wrote back in October.

Lenny Abrahamson's powerful, emotional and occasionally heart-breaking film version of the best-selling novel by Emma Donoghue (who also wrote the screenplay).

The story of young boy who has lived in a small room all his life and knows nothing of the world outside is vividly brought to the big screen.

Making this interior world seem so real and immediate is largely thanks to two extraordinary performances from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay as Ma and Jack. Tremblay in particular is on screen for the majority of the film and is a real find. While Larson continues to add to a body of impressive work.

Continuing his eclectic film choices (following What Richard Did and Frank), Abrahamson rises to the challenge of shooting in a small cramped location in inventive and interesting ways with 'Room' becoming as integral a character as Ma and Jack. Likewise, Donoghue tackles the challenge of bringing a story told on the page from the point of view of a five year old boy on to the screen without losing any of the uniqueness and relying too heavily on voiceover.

The second half of the film shifts into even more emotional territory as the mother/son bond is tested and I'll admit to quite a few teary-eyed moments (who am I kidding, I spent most of second half fighting back the tears in pretty much every scene). So fair warning to those who are susceptible to that kind of thing. Thankfully it never gets overly sentimental. Something you feel a more mainstream studio or director would not have achieved.

A beautiful score from Stephen Rennicks compliments an equally beautiful film.
It really is something special and I urge people to seek it out when it's released next January.

[D-Fens]

Knew very little about it going in, thought it might be a quirky uplifting tale about agoraphobia, turned out to be a very different and obvious situation almost immediately.

Would have liked to have stayed in the innocent world of the room a bit longer, I think it's heavily obscured because it would have been so easy to

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escape which pulled me out of the movie a lot, especially going down the route she chose.

Impactful but easy emotional beats, worth the preview but it's not a special movie.

[The Sparrow]

I found this to be heart-rending and it packed an emotional punch without straying into sentimentality. The way in which we learn about their story is very cleverly played out. The film draws you in and other than when someone close to me got their damn phone out, it held my attention. I really cared about "Ma and Jack". This film won't draw huge box office figures but for those who enjoy a proper story, I thoroughly recommend it.

[Yinster]

Managed to see this as my first film of 2016. Very different to the types of films I usually watch. Must say it had the indie, raw feeling about it but then it felt right for this film. Great storytelling with little to no action. 7/10

[yogi]

A wonderful start to the movie going year, this was fantastically acted, emotional and incredibly tense at times.

The two leads were brilliant

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as were Joan Allen and William H Macy in smaller roles

Wonderful 9/10

[McG]

I have already declared that this could be my film of the year and we're only 6 days into the new year!
I loved everything about this film, the story, the acting, the score . . .I had gone to see this with karenlg123 who had read the book which she said was rather dull. She had read it as part of her book circle and everyone thought the same of the book. I couldn't help but compare the story to the true life events which have happened where young women were abducted and subsequently escaped. I was so moved by the young boy's view of his world and the difficulty of comprehending a world where things were not just 'flat' as in tv. I really cared for both characters and thought they were both excellent. The reactions of other folk after release was also well handled . . .not all sunshine and roses.
Definitely worth seeing . . .even if you have to p*y!
Marks 10/10

[ritamistry]

I hadn't read the book, but the film blew me away. The point where Jack asks his grandma to cut his long hair (his strength) and give it to his sick mother in hospital had me sobbing. Both Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay were both mesmerising, I cant recommend this film enough. You have to see it.

[Beate]

If I'd been Joy I'd have given that horrible journalist a piece of my mind! How dare she even suggest she did anything wrong by keeping Jack with her? He clearly gave her strength to go on and ultimately got them out of there, though it was a bit ludicrous how quickly the kindly police officer pieced together the location of "Room" from the few things Jack said.

It was good to see what happened afterwards. No wonder the parents' marriage had disintegrated - the father clearly couldn't cope well with anything much, while I thought the mother was amazing. When Jack said "I love you Grandma", my heart just constricted. Very well acted by everyone.

8/10

[jojojoanne]

A very moving film.

Nice to see Beate and OH.

[stuartboy]

Did anyone else wonder if Jack was actually a girl and that Joy had always told Nick he was a girl so as to keep his attention away from him?
Also seemed a little unlikely for him to have attended every day yet never seen the child in 5 years!

Agree also that the escape could have been more dramatic and padded out. It just seemed to happen with little dramatic effect and within about 5 minutes. Hardly The Great Escape!

Definitely better on a second viewing.

Bye chair. Bye wardrobe. Bye sink. Bye skylight. Bye Room.