100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 29: Room

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 118 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Matt Gordon

Description: After five-year-old Jack(Jacob Tremblay) and his mother (Brie Larson) escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery.

Review: “Room” is based on the book by Emma Donoghue, who was inspired by the real life story of Austrian Josef Fritzl. He locked his own daughter up in a basement, for 24 years. Director Lenny Abrahamson turned it into a movie and Donoghue was asked to write the script.

Room is a shed where young Jack and his mother Joy live. For Joy it’s a prison, but for her five year old son it’s the only world he knows. Joy tries to make their life as normal as possible. She teaches him to read, they cook together, she tells him stories. At night Jack sleeps in a closet, while Joy has to please her abductor who they call Old Nick. Now that Jack is five, Joy thinks it’s the right time to tell him about the world outside Room, but Jack doesn’t believe her.

Although “Room” is inspired by true stories about abducted women who were kept captive, the abduction and captivity is not the main focus. More than a thriller, “Room” is a heartbreaking drama about the power of motherly love and the possibility to find light in the most darkest situations. The fantastic element about “Room” is that we see it through the eyes of Jack, how he sees Room and how he sees the world.

The strong acting is also the movie’s strength. Brie Larson won an Academy Award for her role and she very well deserved it. But also young Jacob Tremblay, what a promising talent. Their interaction is so convincing.

Although there is not as much time to tell the story as you get while reading the book, “Room” managed to do this very well. A movie that grabs you and doesn’t let go. Already a favorite of this year!

Rating: 5/ 5