Room
Room
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen
Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson
Written by: Emma Donoghue (novel and screenplay)
Rating: R
Length: 1 hour 58 minutes
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 2015
I had heard really good things about the book that Room is based from, but I did not read it before going in to watch it. If you have not read the book, I recommend seeing this movie without knowing too much about it. It is better, the less you know going in.
Room is about a young woman who was kidnapped as a teenager by a guy she refers to as Old Nick. She is being kept in a soundproof room the size of a shed that only has a skylight as the only connection that there is an outside world beyond her prison. When the movie starts, her son is about turn five and has only known life inside this shed. He believes that room is his entire world.
Unfortunately, the trailer gives a major plot point away. I am not sure why it did it, since the story is already an intense situation with the little amount that I have explained here. Even if you have seen the trailer, I would still recommend the movie. Brie Larson is fantastic as the young girl who is now a young mother dealing with having to grow up a captive and protect her child while in this hellish situation. Jacob Tremblay, who plays her son Jake, is outstanding. He is a really impressive actor who makes you feel his character’s imagination, terror, and curiosity at this world he is learning to navigate.
Even though it deals with a kidnapper holding a young woman hostage, it does not sensationalize it, but shows everything from the mother and son’s point of view. It is a sad, but also hopeful story.
Grade: A-