Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

[Ms Thrifty]

I enjoyed the film, which I saw at CPH (where it was lovely to have pxc and jeancomp + OH for company) with a well-behaved and attentive audience, but I find it very hard to rate or to say how good (or bad) I thought it was. Despite what Stephen Daldry has said about opinions tending to be very polarised, I didn't have any strong feelings either way. I didn't have any emotional reaction so didn't feel I was being manipulated but nor did I think the subject matter unsuitable and that the film shouldn't have been made. The performances were excellent, so on that basis I'd have to give them 8/10 at least; just not sure how to evaluate the film as a whole.

[kevinknapman]

Here's my full review of the film http://www.thefilmpilgrim.com/reviews/e ... eview/7872

[sikmansam]

I've just finished my review too:

[jem&theholograms]

Also saw this at Clapham this morning. I was pretty prepared to be in tears for most of this (9/11 and even just the thought of answer phone messages reduce me to a big old mess) but I agree with others that it was okay and sad, but didn't really pack the emotional punch I was expecting. Not that there weren't quite a few teary moments in the audience, but unfortunately it was fairly forgettable a few hours later. Perhaps differently, I quite liked the character of Oskar and did warm to him and his frustration, to me he kept the film moving and Thomas Horn was really fantastic. I wasn't into the Sandra Bullock ending though, it then felt a bit like the film was trying to be too many things.

I was also very prepared to find this overly sentimental and potentially exploitative of 9/11 and all of the emotions that it conjures up. I didn't find it so really. A few people have mentioned the images of falling people; I remember reading a while ago how there was this reluctance to ever mention or show the falling people because it's so difficult to deal with, more so than everything else difficult about that day anyway, so part of me felt it was good not to ignore that part of 9/11 - although if that's not what happened in this story then I think the repetition could be unnecessary. Overall I didn't feel like it was done in an overly distasteful or tacky way, but then I speak as someone with no experience of what that day and aftermath could possibly feel like first hand.

[prettyxcool]

Not knowing what to expect, I was very moved and touched by this film. Thought all the characters were well acted, especially the little boy, I thought he was spot on, what a little kid is like and with autism disorder too. I liked Sandra Bullock as the mother, not her usual cutesy acting, Viola Davies and the mute lodger as well. I thought using the aftermath of 9/11 was very emotive. I didn't cry but finally shed a few tears at the end. 8/10

[spoiler]But as we learned that Tom Hanks already spoke to his wife, why did he not ask "are you there Oskar?" on the phone if he was trying to speak to Oskar? Instead of just "are you there?" in each message, and 8 times apparently on the 6th message. That really bugged me.[/spoiler]

Thanks to jeancomp for saving me a seat and her company, and lovely to catch up with Ms Thrifty too.

[big_bad_wolf]

Went to a very full Southampton Picturehouse thanks to valda.Took the whole family as we are all Sandra Bullock fans and plenty of tissues as i had read earlier reviews.We all enjoyed it very moving film and brought back that horrible day. Thought the little boy Oscar played the part fantastic and the story kept you interested right to the end.

[hopeprince]

Anyone at the O2 tonight?

[Pchibber1]

Saw the movie yesterday at a very full cinema that had an air of anticipation ... guess the Oscar nomination noises contributed to this. Agreed with those that thought they expected more ... I guess the emotionally highly charged topic of 9/11 may have given this movie more plaudits that it might of otherwise. None-the-less the acting must have been ok because I did find a lump in my throat several times and the start of tear here and there (not that I would admit that to male friends: )

[marjoreemarjora]

surprisingly have thought about this film quite a bit since I saw it, if only for the huge part the wee boy had and the acting he put in so decided to up my score from 5.5/10 to 7/10 as it is one of the few films I have seen that the more I think about it the more I feel I liked it.....and that is without any red medicine - honest!1

[redgrant]

It wasn't a bad film but it definitely didn't deserve a Best Film Oscar nomination either. That said, I thought Max Von Sydow earned his for Best Supporting. His scenes with the boy are really tender and touching.

My first time to the O2 cineworld for this one. One of the better complexes in the chain, if I may say. Friendly staff, clean and a massive lounge to sit and wait in. Quite spookily (maybe it's just me), the screen we were in had a slight crumpled effect with lines coming down on the right hand side - which reminded me of the WTC lattice design. For this film, this freaked me out slightly - did anyone else notice that?