Indie movies have become very popular over the last fifteen years. Sure a lot of them aren’t technically “indie” movies. By that I mean a lot of the movies that come out now are produced by big movie studios and made to look and be perceived as indie movies. I am actually okay with that though because I still think the spirit of making art is there especially since most of these indie movies still don’t make much money at the box office. Room is a movie that was produced by quite a few production companies and I think it truly captures the spirit of making art in every way.
Room is about a woman named Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) and her little 5-year-old boy Jack (Jacob Tremblay). They live in a small musty old room and are locked inside. The only way they can get supplies is when a mysterious man known to the boy only as Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) comes bring them things. He only comes at night though and it is while Jack is suppose to be asleep in the wardrobe cabinet which doubles as his own little personal room/bed. Joy has finally had it and fears for her child’s life so she plots a way that Jack can escape. He barley manages to do so and finally gets to experience the rest of the world.
Brie Larson has been appearing in movies for a while now, but I think she is really starting to make her mark in a lot of these indie movies. Here in this movie she gives easily her best performance yet playing a very sympathetic mother who is just trying to protect her child. I’ve never heard of Jacob Tremblay but he was only 8-years-old at the time of filming and he was absolutely fantastic as Jack. The best child actor I’ve ever seen is Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, but Jacob Tremblay’s performance in this movie really comes close and I can only expect he will get even better with time. Larson and Tremblay both interact with each other in a very realistic and subtle way which really helps sell the mother-son relationship.
The interesting thing to remember about this movie is that it isn’t a crime drama although the premise may make it sound like it is. It is really a very serious and subtle character study of a mother and her child. The thing I liked best about this movie is that it is structured in a way through the performances of the actors to really make you relate to their characters. While watching this movie I was extremely stressed out putting myself in their position. When a movie can make you put yourself in a character’s shoes and feel what they are feeling that is when you know a film is firing on all cylinders. A lot of this is done by the filmmakers making you see what the character of Jack sees. A lot of the movie is shown from his perspective and it works. In the movie Jack isn’t aware of an outside world because his mom tells him that the room is all there is. When he finally escapes it would be like you or me blasting off into a spaceship and experiencing a bigger and better world.
The movie is very sad and bleak, but it also has a lot of moments of joy that are really earned and feel very genuine. A lot of movies like to use over dramatic music and manipulate audiences into having a feeling, but Room simply just plays out in a subtle way and you just can’t help but feel for the characters of Joy and Jack. What I love about films is when they can be so artistically crafted that it almost doesn’t even seem like the movie is trying to manipulate you. I don’t mind movies that try to tug on your heart strings but there just seems to be something much more genuine and realistic about it when a movie truly earns your feelings without all the gimmicks and shortcuts.
Dave’s Rating- ★★★★★(5) out of ★★★★★(5)
