Mike Dunn's Film Reviews: February 2016

THESE FOUR WALLS...

Do you know what's depressing for a guy who's had around five years of acting training?

The fact that no matter how many performances I may give in the future, I'll never be as good as Jacob Tremblay in Room.

He's seven. Seven years old. And he is just perfect in this film. In fact, there isn't much about the film that isn't perfect. It just hits every single target it aims for.

Brie Larson is as equally brilliant as Tremblay, but all the praise will be heaped upon this little star-in-the-making, and justifiably so. But before I go on about how fantastic a film this is, let me just clarify the story for you in case you have heard about this film and its subject matter...

PLOT

Room begins on Jack's fifth birthday. All he knows is the world that he inhabits. One tiny box space that he calls 'Room'. Jack lives in 'Room' with Ma, his mother, who was kidnapped by a man known simply as 'Old Nick' and locked away in 'Room' seven years earlier.

Jack spends his day watching the magic fantasy tales on TV and reading Alice In Wonderland, but Ma decides it's time to tell Jack the truth about their situation and try and find a way to escape 'Room' together.

Note: The film never shows Ma's kidnapping, or the subsequent seven years; the film is told through Jack's eyes so innocence is preserved. Ma's journey to 'Room' is purely anecdotal, but still chilling when being recounted.

OPINION

Firstly, I urge you to see this film.

Secondly, Good God, I hope you bring tissues with you when you do. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house when the lights came up. People were just sat in their seats, trying to comprehend what they had just seen. They needed a moment to compose themselves, and I can't blame them for their reaction.

When you hear the plot or set-up of a film like Room's, you second-guess yourself and hesitate. It's only human to worry about subjecting yourself to experiences that we wish we never go through ourselves.

But I assure you that whilst the initial set-up is horrendous from our perspective, the film is all set through Jack's eyes. Like Ma's struggle throughout the film, we are kept going by Jack's enthusiasm and strength despite their horrible living conditions.

The film focuses on the bond between mother and son rather than the struggle they have to overcome and that's where Room stands apart from your standard kidnap-film.

It is heart-warming and yet heart-breaking, tense and yet serene, depressing and yet life-affirming.

The real beauty and truth from this film is definitely found in the smaller details, and thanks to director Lenny Abrahamson and director of photography Danny Cohen nothing is missed and every aspect of their life within Room is captured. For better or for worse. Twin that with the brilliantly-understated score by Jóhann Jóhannsson, and get ready to look at the dust in a sunray in a whole new way.

First coming to my attention in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, I'm glad that Brie Larson is building on the critical acclaim that she received for Short Term 12 a few years ago.

Her role in Room is a thankless one as Ma suffers throughout the first half of the film, dealing with her own imprisonment as well as her child's, and thanks to Larson's effortless delivery, you feel every emotion she experiences.

Her performance is incredibly strong and relatable, reacting to the situation like a real person and not a movie heroine. She is flawed and damaged by the events, her hidden struggle pushed aside for the sake of her son.

The ever dependable Joan Allen and William H. Macy provide solid performances as Ma's parents, but it is relatively unknown Tom McCamus who steals the parental show as Ma's new step-father. His character is so enjoyable and relatable, he is one of my favourite characters in a film in some time, a credit to McCamus and screenwriter Emma Donaghue.

But returning to Tremblay again, his performance is so honest, truthful and believable that you believe every emotion he goes through. You travel alongside him on this emotional rollercoaster, despite you obviously knowing there is a world outside of those four walls.

It really is a credit that an ordeal as horrible as the one depicted in Room is never too much for the audience to handle, mainly because Tremblay's Jack keeps us going. Like with Ma, Jack propels us forward and fully gains our attention, distracting us from the horrible conditions.

I should probably stop now before I go into too much detail about the story, but if you are interested, check out the trailer at the bottom of the review.

Definitely one of the films of the year and it only was released in the first few weeks.

If 2016 continues this trend, then we are in for a fantastic year ahead of us.

Rating - 9/10